Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District School Board member Maria Leon-Vazquez is under fire after a Los Angeles Times investigation revealed that she had voted to approve six-digit contracts with companies without acknowledging her husband had ties to those businesses.
Leon-Vazquez has long been a controversial figure in Malibu’s fight for district separation. She was one of the key members unsatisfied with the Malibu Unification Negotiation Committee’s plan toward separation, citing the numbers as unfeasible to support a Santa Monica-only school district, at the Oct. 30 school board meeting. Toward the end of the meeting, Leon-Vazquez intimated that Malibu was undeserving of school board member Jon Kean’s suggestion of exploring the “strong benefits to us staying together to kids in Malibu.” This caused Malibu’s only representative, Craig Foster, to argue vehemently with Leon-Vazquez, eventually leading Foster to leave the room in protest and Malibu Mayor Skylar Peak to ask why she was “lying.”
Leon-Vazquez’s husband, Santa Monica councilmember and former Mayor Pro Tem Tony Vazquez, worked as a paid consultant (through his consulting business, Vazquez and Associates) for two companies: The East Los Angeles Community Union Construction Management (TCM) and Keygent LLC. The former currently has a contract with the school district while the latter had several over the past few years.
The information emerged from the council member’s deposition last year as part of a lawsuit, filed by Malibu attorney Kevin Shenkman, against the City of Santa Monica—the same Voting Rights Act suit that ended up getting Shenkman removed from the Malibu Unification Negotiation Committee. According to Surf Santa Monica, a judge allowed the lawsuit to go forward under the 2001 California Voting Rights Act, which allows minority groups to prove their votes are being misrepresented in at-large elections.
Vazquez was initially paid $1,000 per month by TCM, which eventually increased to $8,000 per month. The increase occurred around three years ago—about the time he was asked to set up a meeting between a TCM representative and former SMMUSD Superintendent Sandra Lyon.
Lyon confirmed the meeting took place, saying she did not know that Vazquez was being paid for the introduction. According to what Lyon told the LA Times, Vazquez introduced her to TCM employees—though she was not aware the school board member’s husband was also a paid consultant.
Though the council member claimed his wife would recuse herself if the deal came down to a vote in the deposition, records show that Leon-Vazquez voted to allow TCM as an “‘on-call’ contractor” in a contract worth up to $174,000.
Vazquez also helped sell Keygent’s advisory services; Leon-Vazquez approved a contract with Keygent to review employees’ health benefits savings among several others over the years, according to the LA Times. Vazquez was paid around $1,500-$2,500 per month, according to the deposition and a confirmation from a Keygent advisor.
According to the California Fair Political Practices Commission website, a public official “must disclose their financial interests as specified in the agency’s conflict of interest code.” In this case, Santa Monica officials are required to file a “Statement of Economic Interest.” The LA Times found that neither of the two had cited TCM as a source of income on their required public statements. Dating back to 2012, none of Vazquez’s Statements of Economic Interest mention the monthly income from TCM or Keygent.
According to the Santa Monica Daily Press, Vazquez said his wife was unaware of the conflict of interest; he claimed Leon-Vazquez did not know that TCM and Keygent were Vazquez and Associates clients.
Leon-Vazquez did not reply to a request for comment by the time The Malibu Times went to print.
The school district is now investigating.
“The district and our board of education recognize the importance of avoiding conflict of interest,” SMMUSD Superintendent Dr. Ben Drati said in an emailed statement. “At this time, we are in the process of gathering information and facts related to the board’s and Maria’s votes.”
An updated statement on the district’s website said it would be working with legal counsel surrounding the conflict-of-interest issue.
According to SMMUSD bylaws, “Even if there is no prohibited or remote interest, a board member shall abstain from voting on personnel matters that uniquely affect a relative of the board member.” Additionally, the bylaws state that consultants are “designated employees who must disclose financial interests as determined on a case-by-case basis by the superintendent or designee.”
LA Times reported that a Keygent advisor confirmed the contracts with SMMUSD contained a clause stating its relationship to Vazquez and that his work was unrelated to Santa Monica.
Leon-Vazquez is expected to be present for the SMMUSD School Board meeting on Thursday, Nov. 16. The meeting agenda currently has 30 minutes allotted to the controversial district separation; by the time The Malibu Times went to print, there was no allotment for discussion regarding Leon-Vazquez and her husband.