![\"Chula](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/SUT-L-AGUIRRE-MCCANN-10.jpg\")
Chula Vista Mayor John McCann addresses the audience in City Hall. (Xavier Hernandez \/ For The San Diego Union-Tribune )\nContested timeline<\/p>\n
When Chula Vista Mayor John McCann left for a Navy Reserve deployment in late January, the county\u2019s second-largest city faced a question it had no clear answer for: How should elected officials communicate their absences to ensure continuity of leadership?<\/p>\n
As it stands, the city has no formal\u00a0policy.<\/p>\n
The result was conflicting accounts about who knew McCann was leaving and when they knew it. Deputy Mayor Cesar Fernandez said he was never\u00a0notified. City Manager Tiffany Allen won\u2019t say when she learned of the deployment. And McCann\u2019s version of events contradicts what Allen allegedly told other officials.<\/p>\n
While the city manager handles day-to-day administrative operations, the mayor plays a central role in setting policy direction and representing the city in official capacities. In his absence, those responsibilities fall to the deputy mayor, according to the City Charter.<\/p>\n
Former Mayor Mary Salas, who served with McCann when he was a council member, said his current approach represents a departure from how he handled deployments in the past.<\/p>\n
\u201cCertainly, we were all aware that he was going to be gone,\u201d Salas said of McCann\u2019s earlier deployments. \u201cWe always knew when he was going to be gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chula Vista Mayor John McCann addresses the audience in City Hall. (Xavier Hernandez \/ For The San Diego Union-Tribune )
\nContested timeline<\/p>\n
McCann, a Reserve supply and logistics officer who holds the rank of commander, said he discussed his deployment with City Manager Tiffany Allen in December and they decided together to move a Feb. 3 council meeting to Feb. 10 to accommodate his military service. McCann said he discussed his deployment with Allen on two other occasions.<\/p>\n
But Deputy Mayor Cesar Fernandez said Allen told him on Jan. 23 that she had \u201cjust found out\u201d the mayor was out of the country \u2014 the same day Fernandez himself learned of the absence.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe goes, \u2018I just found out that he\u2019s out of town. He\u2019s not in the country,\u2019\u201d Fernandez said in an interview, describing his conversation with Allen at a Jan. 23 ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Sharp facility. \u201cAnd I was like, \u2018Oh, really?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Fernandez said he never received formal notification of McCann\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo date, I have not received an email, a text message, anything formally stating that the mayor was out,\u201d Fernandez said. \u201cNever formally was notified that he was out of town or out of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
McCann did not directly address what Allen reportedly told Fernandez on Jan. 23, but emphasized security concerns around his deployment.<\/p>\n
\u201cAgain, we all have different schedules and because of security issues with my family, security issues with my Navy service and my sailors, we\u2019re not allowed to announce when I\u2019m on deployment or where I\u2019m going on deployment,\u201d McCann said when asked about Fernandez\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n
Allen did not respond to requests for comment on what she told Fernandez regarding the mayor\u2019s deployment.<\/p>\n
City spokesman John Cihomsky declined to comment on communications regarding the mayor\u2019s deployment, citing privacy and security concerns.<\/p>\n
Salas said she could not recall specific written policies, but emphasized notification is expected when a member of the council will be out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just think that it\u2019s a matter of common courtesy to let the council members know that you\u2019re going to be gone and not make it a surprise,\u201d Salas said, adding that it was especially important to notify the deputy mayor who \u201chas to be prepared to assume the role of acting mayor.\u201d<\/p>\n
McCann said he never informed members of the council of his deployments. \u201cIt\u2019s been a long time since Mary Salas was mayor and she is mistaken. I only informed the City Manager of my Navy Deployments in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meeting canceled weeks in advance<\/p>\n
The timeline of a canceled City Council meeting has added to questions about the notification process.<\/p>\n
City Council schedules provided to The San Diego Union-Tribune show a Feb. 3 meeting was listed as scheduled in an October 2025 draft. But a revised schedule sent to council members on Dec. 15, 2025, showed the meeting had been removed \u2014 nearly seven weeks before the scheduled date.<\/p>\n
McCann confirmed he asked to move the meeting to maintain his attendance record.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn December, I had talked with our city manager, told her that I was being deployed,\u201d McCann said. \u201cThere were no issues of being able to move the meeting from February 3rd to February 10th. That would give me a window of opportunity to be able to attend my military deployment without missing a meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allen did not respond to several requests for comment on the meeting between her and McCann.<\/p>\n
Deputy Mayor role and training<\/p>\n
The City Charter allows the deputy mayor to preside over council meetings in the mayor\u2019s absence, and only three members are needed for a quorum to conduct business.<\/p>\n
Fernandez said he has received no formal training on what that role entails. He was appointed to the role at the Jan. 6 City Council meeting.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there\u2019s a policy that spells out specific duties of the Deputy Mayor, I definitely would\u2019ve liked to receive that and I\u2019m not sure that that actually exists,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The first time Fernandez saw any public confirmation of McCann\u2019s absence was on the day of a Feb. 2 special meeting, when information about the deployment appeared on social media.<\/p>\n
Fernandez had called the special meeting to address the death of Alex Pretti, who was killed by ICE agents in Minnesota. When asked whether calling the meeting had anything to do with the mayor being out of town, Fernandez said: \u201cZero. I would\u2019ve asked for it anyways.\u201d<\/p>\n
McCann\u2019s office issued a press release Feb. 2 explaining he could not attend the special meeting due to military service obligations. McCann described the meeting as a \u201cpolitical statement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe city council was able to call a special meeting and they were successful at making their political statement,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Conflicting views on standard practice<\/p>\n
McCann characterized his coordination with the city manager as routine.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have council members who have medical issues, who have vacation plans, who have conferences, and the city manager does a good job to try to be able to make sure that they work around, or she helps work around the schedule to maximize the attendance of the mayor and all council members for council meetings,\u201d McCann said.<\/p>\n
But Councilmember Michael Inzunza, who attended Tuesday\u2019s council meeting virtually due to a family medical issue, said he followed a different process to ensure his in-person absence was properly handled.<\/p>\n
Inzunza said he contacted the city to ask about absence procedures and was told he could participate remotely under the Americans with Disabilities Act provisions, which allow council members to attend virtually in certain circumstances.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t expect the city staff or the city council to postpone a meeting on my behalf,\u201d Inzunza said. \u201cI expect that the city council and staff need to proceed with meetings to keep the services of our city going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inzunza, who comes from a military family and emphasized his respect for military service, said his concerns are about procedural clarity, not McCann\u2019s service.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy understanding is that members of the city council should not be asking to cancel or postpone meetings for any reason,\u201d he said, adding that the city \u201cdoesn\u2019t necessarily seem to have a very concrete policy in place for absences or changing council meetings to fit a council member\u2019s schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n
Councilmember Jose Preciado said in an email that he also was not informed of McCann\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am never informed or privy to the mayor\u2019s calendar,\u201d Preciado wrote. \u201cIn fairness, he does not have access or knowledge of mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Questions about written policies<\/p>\n
The City Charter\u00a0references absences \u201cwithout permission,\u201d though the Charter does not specify who grants permission or what the process entails.<\/p>\n
Inzunza said the lack of clear policies is problematic.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still think that there are some unanswered questions in the fact that the council doesn\u2019t necessarily seem to have a very concrete policy in place for absences or changing council meetings to fit a council member\u2019s schedule,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Security and family safety concerns<\/p>\n
McCann emphasized that his priority was protecting his family and maintaining operational security.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have the obligation to protect my family,\u201d McCann said. \u201cWhen I am off on deployment, my wife and daughter are home alone. We want to make sure that their safety is paramount.\u201d<\/p>\n
He referenced the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, known as USERRA, which allows service members to serve without jeopardizing their jobs, saying the city manager \u201chas been respectful in making sure that she follows the human resources rules as well as USERRA.\u201d<\/p>\n
Salas said McCann never previously cited security or privacy concerns as a reason not to notify colleagues. She also said security concerns wouldn\u2019t prevent internal notification of council members.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he were worried about his personal security, he could have a private conversation with the council members,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead<\/p>\n
McCann has been a Chula Vista elected official since 2002, serving as a council member, mayor and school board member. He is up for re-election this year.<\/p>\n
Salas, who left office nearly three years ago, said the current lack of communication on the council is troubling.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just know that there\u2019s a lack of communication between the council and the mayor, and that\u2019s really unfortunate,\u201d Salas said. \u201cIt really makes me sad to see what\u2019s going on and that there\u2019s not a working relationship or the communication that you should have with your council members. It\u2019s kind of disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Chula Vista Mayor John McCann left for a Navy Reserve deployment in late January, the county\u2019s second-largest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":181163,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[7,9974,181,23,100,74,84,76,75,3055,1696],"class_list":{"0":"post-181162","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-chula-vista","10":"tag-latest-headlines","11":"tag-local-news","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-san-diego","14":"tag-san-diego-county","15":"tag-san-diego-headlines","16":"tag-san-diego-news","17":"tag-south-county","18":"tag-top-stories-sdut"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181162"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181162\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/181163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}