Font ResizeThe board acted without any public testimony from Prather's accuser, Bill Runyon, who told the Times in a phone interview this week that he is a friend of board member Wally Trujillo. According to a memo by board counsel William Ross, Runyon observed Prather enter Pete's Place in Pinole on Aug. 29, sit at the bar, and say, "I won't let any (expletive) female 5-foot-3-inch firefighter be a firefighter in the District, as long as I am on the board."
Prather was absent from Wednesday's meeting due to illness, board Chairman J.R. Stafford said. Runyon, a San Pablo resident, did not attend the meeting either, although Prather's lawyer, Carleton Briggs, said earlier this week that Prather "has the right to confront witnesses who testify against him."
Prather, who recently completed a four-month censure and suspension by the board over a remark he made at a Feb. 18 board meeting questioning the ability of 5-foot-2-inch women to be firefighters, has said he was in the bar talking to some friends but that he did not say anything resembling what Runyon accuses him of saying. Prather has apologized for his February remark and has said, "The word I should have used was '5-foot-2 person.'"
Runyon on Thursday insisted that he accurately reported the gist of what Prather said in the bar Aug. 29.
Three audience members
"Mr. Ross should know hearsay evidence is not admissible," Herwat told the board.
Stafford said he was not at liberty to speak because the matter had been the subject of a closed session last week.
The subject of hearsay had come up earlier in the meeting in another, somewhat related context, when Herwat urged the board to move its meetings from the Rodeo Fire Station to a "neutral" venue, arguing that a gallery of firefighters who often make up the majority of the audience could intimidate the board; he said many of the Rodeo-Hercules firefighters "hate" Prather, including some who had been overheard saying words to that effect.
But a firefighter, Jonathan Bischoff, objected to the word "hate" and cautioned the board not to act on the say-so of one person, Herwat.
Stafford said the venue matter could be agendized for a future meeting.
Prather has said that the months-long drama that began with his Feb. 18 comment is part of an effort by the firefighters union to sideline him for his advocacy of a fitness test that the union opposes and for his opposition to increased retirement benefits. The union has said its drive to oust Prather has nothing to do with his stance on the fitness test and benefits.
Before voting on a draft censure resolution Wednesday, the board reworded the title from a resolution "censuring" Prather to one "condemning the actions" of Prather. The board also took the word "censured" out of the conclusion of the resolution, opting instead to "condemn Director Prather for his derogatory and discriminatory statements." The vote was 4-0.
Unlike the earlier censure resolution in June, which was accompanied by a 120-day suspension, Wednesday's resolution, even in its earlier draft form, did not include suspension. Prather and his attorney have said the board's suspension of Prather, which expired earlier this month, was illegal.
Asked whether there is any practical or legal difference between censuring Prather or condemning him, Ross said there is, but he declined to say what.
Terry Francke, general counsel for the First Amendment watchdog organization Californians Aware, said, "'Condemn" is much stronger than 'censure' semantically, but in this context it carries no different legal consequences."
Reach Tom Lochner at 510-262-2760.
