Councilman calls for Enochs to step down

Councilman calls for Enochs to step down

By: LAURA MITCHELL - Staff Writer

MURRIETA ---- Councilman Doug McAllister is calling for the resignation of Councilman Warnie Enochs, following Enochs' arrest earlier this month on 14 felony counts.

McAllister said Wednesday the arrest has been a distraction for the city and has hurt morale.

Council members are divided on the issue. Enochs, his supporters and Councilman Rick Gibbs say Enochs is innocent until proven guilty. And while McAllister and Mayor Kelly Seyarto agree, they say the charges from the district attorney's office need to be taken seriously.

Enochs was arrested Jan. 10 and is accused of falsifying a "fix-it" ticket signature, threatening two men and submitting a false lien to the court to try to lower the equity of his home. He was released later that day on $20,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 7. The charges surfaced during a messy divorce between Warnie and Julia Enochs.

"I really wanted Warnie to have the opportunity to take the high road and do the right thing," McAllister said. "I can understand his quandary ---- by doing this is he admitting guilt? But I'm more concerned about the city right now."

McAllister said he would resign "in a heartbeat" if he were in the same circumstances.

Enochs said Wednesday he feels like McAllister is on a "witch hunt."

"I wish the other council members would presume me innocent. That's a right our forefathers fought for," he said.

Murrieta City Attorney John Harper has said there is no legal requirement for Enochs to resign, although if Enochs is convicted of a felony, he would automatically lose his seat on the council.

Robert Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles, said Wednesday that the decision to resign or not in these types of situations should be up to each council member.

"Clearly we have a presumption of innocence until proven guilty," Stern said. "The decision should not be up to the other council members."

Often people do step down because they want to spend all their time fighting the charges, he said. The decision really is made on a case-by-case basis ---- 14 counts is much more serious than one count, Stern said.

"The question is, is he attending meetings and is he able to participate? If he is, then the problem is that there is an embarrassment to the council."

Enochs missed the meeting the night he was arrested, but attended the Jan. 17 meeting and says he plans to keep attending them while his case progresses.

Enochs' supporters say they stand behind him.

"We live in a system where people are innocent until proven guilty," Murrieta resident Robert Ross said Wednesday, saying that McAllister is grandstanding to try to gain political capital.

"I think it's shameful." Ross said.

Mayor Seyarto said Wednesday he understands McAllister's point of view but he suggests the newest member of the council, Gibbs, help the council come up with some form of censure under the city's ethics policy.

Seyarto said that under the current political climate, if he or McAllister attempt to formulate a plan to do something by themselves, such as censure Enochs, it would become a political lightning rod.

"But we just can't ignore that something has transpired here," he said.

Gibbs was elected to the council during a divisive May 3 recall election that ousted then-Mayor Jack van Haaster from office. Seyarto and McAllister were also targeted, but survived the recall, which was supported by Enochs and Councilman Richard Ostling. Leading up to the election, Enochs and Seyarto often argued ---- at times leading van Haaster to have to call for a break while the councilmen cooled off.

Gibbs said it's not for the council to decide if Enochs should resign.

"The court process needs to play out," he said.

It doesn't matter if it is Enochs or another council member in the same situation, people are innocent until proven guilty, he said. Ostling could not be reached Wednesday.

Seyarto agreed that Enochs is innocent until proven guilty, but the bottom line is that people do not just get charged with stuff like this unless there are issues with their behavior.

"Part of this is his own darn fault," he said.

McAllister also said Enochs is innocent until proven guilty ---- however he finds it hard to believe that District Attorney Grover Trask would charge Enochs if any of the accusations were frivolous.

Contact staff writer Laura Mitchell at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2621, or lmitchell@californian.com.