'Political lynching': Emeryville city councilman facing ethics charges

An Emeryville city councilmember will face a censure vote on Tuesday as tensions flare between the Black Catholic legislator and his colleagues, who have opposed his reform efforts and a recent political challenge against sitting mayor Courtney Welch.

Welch successfully moved on Nov. 5 to place an ethics vote against Kalimah Priforce on the city council agenda, alleging violations that were not detailed publicly until 17 days later.

The four-page resolution accuses the 44-year-old Haitian American Democrat of violating a 2023 ethics code adopted by the council amid the ongoing conflict.

Four of the body's five members—all except Priforce—voted in favor of Welch's motion against him earlier this month without any public explanation of its contents.

“Priforce has violated the laws and regulations governing his activities as a member of the office of the City Council on numerous occasions,” reads a draft of the resolution revealed by Priforce on Nov. 22, and which will likely be affirmed by another 4-1 council vote this week.

“These violations are not limited to an isolated incident, but instead reflect a pattern of unacceptable conduct and poor judgment that has placed the City Council and City staff in untenable positions and brought embarrassment and disrepute to the City of Emeryville and the City Council of the City of Emery.”

The charges concern alleged violations of the Brown Act, a California state law which governs the nature of legislative meetings; campaign finance disclosures; negative public comments; and his 2024 campaign for Emeryville mayor—an unelected, rotational position that Priforce says he has been locked out of since his election to a four-year council term in 2022.

Priforce was passed over for vice mayor in December 2023, despite achieving the highest number of votes in the city council election one month prior. The second-place vote-getter, David Mourra—an ally to then-mayor John Bauters—was instead given the role.

Priforce has described the ethics charges as a “political lynching” orchestrated as a parting shot from Bauters, who will depart the council following his loss in the race to become an Alameda County supervisor.

“Bauters and Courtney Welch are upset with me and as I have shared, have been bullying me since before I became a councilmember, starting with the collegiality pledge,” said Priforce.

“Bauters leaves office on Dec. 10th, so this is his way of punishing me for opposing him, but the culture of bullying in Emeryville has been a mainstay and I've been the only one who dared to challenge the toxic workplace culture.”

In response to the impending vote against Priforce, which would strip him of all committee assignments and board appointments for a calendar year, he has amplified his calls for an independent public ethics oversight commission in Emeryville. (The council’s refusal to adopt such a measure led to Priforce abstaining from signing the 2023 council ethics code—another charge laid against him by his fellow legislators in the upcoming vote.)

“By promoting transparency and accountability, we can establish a city that prioritizes the needs of the many over the select few,” reads an ongoing petition supported by Priforce to establish such a commission. 

“We have an opportunity to foster a culture of ethical standards that will define the future of Emeryville.”

Priforce also says he will begin a hunger strike during Tuesday's meeting, hearkening back to his past activism as a foster youth in his hometown of Brooklyn, New York.

There, Priforce led a successful hunger strike to demand the expansion of the library at his group home, as noted in a White House profile from the Obama administration.

Priforce is encouraging community members to make their voices heard at the city council gathering, which is open to the public and will begin at 6:30pm PT in the Council Chambers at the Emeryville Civic Center on Park Avenue.

Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.

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