San Simeon to investigate allegations of racism

April 27, 2023

By KAREN VELIE

The San Simeon Community Services District (CSD) Board voted unanimously on April 25 to investigate allegations of racism raised by a former director.

After almost three years on the board, Director Daniel de la Rosa resigned on April 16 alleging racism. De la Rosa was the second director to quit in less than two weeks.

First, de la Rosa argues that an email string between two San Simeon directors and a committee member is racist because the email was not also sent to him.

A member of the water and budget committees, Henry Krzciuk, sent an email to CSD Chair Jacqueline Diamond and Director Michael Donahue about his plan to contact a staffer to ask information about the budget. In an attempt to comply with the Brown Act, Krzciuk said he was careful not to email a CSD board majority.

De la Rosa also alleges CSD Chair Diamond removed him from the budget committee without proper notice. However, according to district records, de la Rosa was not a member of the budget committee in 2021 or 2022.

In addition, de la Rosa alleges a letter in which he quit two committees should have been provided in a CSD board packet because the CSD included the resignation of a white person, former director Gwen Kellas, from the CSD board.

The San Simeon CSD currently has only three board members. The board voted on Tuesday to appoint replacements for Kellas and de la Rosa. The board also directed CSD staff to mail letters to all registered voters in the two districts informing them of the board openings.

With approximately 195 voters who are divided into five districts with about 45 voters each, district officials have voiced concerns with finding eligible candidates.