Residents and council spar over post‑election mailers criticizing Measure N

A string of public comments at the Nov. 11 Upland City Council meeting focused on campaign mailers distributed during the Measure N campaign, prompting sharp rebuttals from city officials and a tense back‑and‑forth with residents.

Resident Glenn Bozar told the council the campaign against Measure N used deceptive tactics, repeatedly called for changes in city management and urged enforcement of a contract termination clause. Bozar said he and others were “given the middle finger” by the city’s handling of the campaign and asserted the opposition’s messaging was dishonest.

Council members and staff directly addressed several claims Bozar and other residents cited from the mailers. Assistant City Manager Steven Parker told the council that the flyers’ assertion that the city council had voted to grant themselves a pension was inaccurate and that the council had not taken action to establish pensions. Police Chief Blanco disputed a flyer’s claim about police staffing, saying it was “way off base,” explaining staffing is budgeted at 80 sworn positions (with 72 currently filled) and that some numbers cited in the mailer were a “flat out lie.” Chief Blanco also said that in October the department’s dispatch triage identified 471 calls as medical and the department responded directly to 37 of them; roughly 19% of triaged calls were forwarded for fire response, contrary to claims that a large majority of 911 medical calls go to outside agencies.

Council members, including the mayor, publicly defended the city manager and staff and urged residents not to conflate campaign rhetoric with official city actions. The mayor and other council members said the council and city manager have worked to restore public trust after prior governance issues and emphasized the council respects voters’ decisions. No formal council disciplinary or enforcement actions were announced at the meeting.

The meeting record shows an extended conversation about the local aftermath of Measure N’s defeat and the city’s financial constraints going forward; the mayor asked the city manager to review committee assignments and identify programs or events that may need scaling back before the Nov. 25 meeting.

The council adjourned after those communications; no additional formal action on campaign mailers was taken during the Nov. 11 meeting.