A disciplinary hearing resulted in San Leandro Councilmembers Victor Aguilar and Fred Simon receiving discipline.
The hearing was prompted after Councilmember Xouhoa Bowen filed a human resources complaint in 2024. That launched an investigation, which ended in November 2025. Councilmembers received the results of the investigation. The HR investigative report was released to the public on Jan. 5.
The disciplinary hearing during the Jan. 20 council meeting involved three votes. The first was to accept the findings of the independent HR investigation as facts. The second was to decide if disciplinary action is necessary and the third motion was to recommend possible disciplinary actions such as consultation with the mayor, a statement of disapproval or a letter of reprimand.
The council voted on drafting a resolution with a statement of disapproval and admonition. It would say that Aguilar and Simon violated the city’s administrative code with behaviors involving bullying, abusive conduct, retaliation and gender bias. The resolution would be up for a vote during a future council meeting. Simon and Aguilar abstained from voting on their own disciplinary hearing.
‘This report contains mischaracterizations, it contains omitted information, it contains selective use of information,’
– Fred Simon, San Leandro Councilmember
The resolution would also include recommendations for corrective actions or behaviors. Bowen said, “The real work is changing behavior, and it is not my behavior that needs to be changed. I am calling it out, and the least that we can do is acknowledge the harm that has been caused.”
Aguilar said, “I take allegations of harassment and discrimination and retaliation very seriously. I always have, but I will not sit here quietly while ordinary democratic disagreement is repackaged as wrongdoing, while my integrity is questioned based on assumptions, narratives and mind reading instead of facts. I do not agree with the conclusions of the investigation as they relate to me.”
Bowen said to Aguilar, “I want to ask the councilmember to find a way to hear the things that have been said and to hear me, and to understand that this isn’t about my hurt feelings. It really is about me trying to show up and do my job.”
Simon said, “This report contains mischaracterizations, it contains omitted information, it contains selective use of information. The investigator is biased, she has made untruthful statements, and she badgered me during the investigative process.”
Councilmember Dylan Boldt said, “If somebody feels you did something to them, that should sink in enough that you take that moment to say, ‘I’m sorry.’”
