An independent investigation found no evidence to support allegations that Morgan Hill Mayor Mark Turner physically assaulted Mayor Pro Tem Yvonne Martínez Beltrán during a February council meeting, according to findings presented at a special city council meeting July 22.
The investigation concluded that all allegations against Turner were “not sustained,” with investigator Karen Kramer finding that video evidence contradicted Martínez Beltrán’s claims and that inconsistencies in her statements undermined her credibility.
Speaking at the July 22 meeting, Turner announced he would seek to remove Martínez Beltrán from her Mayor Pro Tem position at the council’s next meeting Aug. 20, saying she had “brought shame, dishonor, and discredit” to the role and was “no longer worthy of that title.”
“At no time did I physically or verbally abuse or assault Ms. Beltrán,” Turner said. “These accusations are not only categorically false, but they are also part of a broader pattern of behavior by Ms. Beltrán motivated by personal animosity and a desire to inflict harm on my reputation, my family and the integrity of our city government.”
Martínez Beltrán was not present during the special meeting, having objected to the scheduling during the council’s summer recess period. In an email statement submitted prior to the meeting, she indicated that a representative would read remarks on her behalf during her allotted time to speak in response to the report. However, no such representative stepped forward during the allotted time.
In her written statement, Martínez Beltrán called the process “biased and disingenuous” and said she was unable to attend due to a previously planned family vacation with her children.
“We are being asked to forsake our planned family time to address the inappropriate behavior of Mayor Mark Turner,” Martínez Beltrán wrote. “Unfortunately, this has been arranged so that I couldn’t be there.”
The council is not due to reconvene from its summer recess until Aug. 20.
“To delay this until August felt irresponsible to me,” said Councilmember Soraida Iwanaga. “This issue, if not dealt with, will only serve to create more unnecessary distraction and division in our community.”
The allegations stemmed from a Feb. 7 council meeting where Martínez Beltrán claimed Turner approached her during a break, yelled “You’re too much,” pointed his finger at her, said “You’re going to get in line,” and pushed her on her right forearm. She also alleged Turner retaliated against her for running against him in the November 2024 mayoral election by removing her from committees and mistreated her based on her gender and race.
Attorney Shelline Bennett of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, who oversaw the investigation, told the council that the complaint was received the evening of Feb. 7 and that the city acted promptly, as legally required for discrimination and harassment allegations.
However, Bennett said the investigation was delayed because Martínez Beltrán did not respond to Kramer’s initial outreach on Feb. 20. It took six weeks before Martínez Beltrán agreed to an interview with the investigator, Bennett said.
“Karen Kramer reached out to Mayor Pro Tem Martínez Beltrán. Ms. Kramer did not have a response, so she reached out again on Feb. 27,” Bennett said. “It wasn’t until six weeks after Investigator Karen Kramer reached out to Mayor Pro Tem Martínez Beltrán that the Mayor Pro Tem agreed to an interview.”
The investigation included interviews with all five council members including the mayor, city attorney and city manager, as well as review of police reports and video footage from the Feb. 7 meeting. The investigation and services of attorneys related to the scandal have cost the city approximately $28,000.
Bennett said video of the incident showed Martínez Beltrán walking toward Turner and putting up her arms as Turner extended his right hand, which appeared to make contact with her arm. However, the investigator concluded there was no evidence the contact was aggressive in nature, and the video did not show Turner yelling or pointing at Martínez Beltrán as she had alleged.
“The video does not depict what Ms. Martínez Beltrán asserted, that Mr. Turner was yelling or pointing at Ms. Martínez Beltrán,” Bennett said. “This directly contradicted what she alleged and impacted her credibility with the investigator.”
The investigation highlighted significant inconsistencies between Martínez Beltrán’s police report and her later statement to the investigator. In her police report, she said Turner pushed her in the stomach, causing her to move backwards and experience pain. However, during her interview with the investigator, she denied that Turner touched her stomach.
“Ms. Martínez Beltrán’s credibility was further undermined by her interview description of what actually occurred on Feb. 7,” Bennett said. “It was inconsistent with what Ms. Martínez Beltrán reported to the police.”
The police report noted that Martínez Beltrán’s statement was inconsistent with all other parties interviewed and inconsistent with the video footage. The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office declined to file criminal charges after reviewing the case.
Regarding Martínez Beltrán’s claims that Turner had retaliated to her election challenge by withholding committee assignments, the investigation found she actually received more committee appointments than her peers on the council. Bennett noted that Martínez Beltrán had been given the opportunity to provide the city manager with a list of preferred committee assignments, but failed to do so.
“The chart of committee assignments shows Councilmember Martínez Beltrán had seven committee assignments, while councilmembers Liebers, Vega and Iwanaga are assigned to fewer committees,” Bennett said. “These numbers alone undermine councilmember Martínez Beltrán’s claims that she was subjected to disparate treatment.”
The city’s investigation also noted that Turner had recommended Martínez Beltrán be appointed Mayor Pro Tem, which “undermines Ms. Martínez Beltrán’s claim that Mayor Turner harbored animus against her for running against him for mayor.”
The investigation also revealed that witnesses had reported Martínez Beltrán made racially charged comments about her colleagues. According to the report, she told one witness that two council members were “too old and too white to be on this council.”
“Imagine for a brief second if something similar was said to Ms. Beltrán about her age and color,” Turner said during his remarks at the July 22 special meeting.
The investigation also found that during the campaign, Martínez Beltrán told a witness that Turner “is a racist and not to trust him,” and that she addressed Turner “in a sarcastic manner and with an undertone of disdain.”
Councilmember Marilyn Librers said the incident had wasted city money on the lost work day, investigation costs and police resources, while damaging the council’s reputation and trustworthiness.
“We as city council are held to a higher standard, and we do believe Yvonne Martínez Beltrán has not upheld her responsibilities,” Librers said. “I am disheartened to serve with her.”
Iwanaga said she felt it was imperative to bring the report to light for transparency.
“My goal for tonight’s meeting is that as a city, and as a council, we can once and for all move on and put our city and its needs before individual interests, individual agendas and personal feelings,” Iwanaga said. “Let justice move forward.”
Councilmember Miriam Vega, who said Martínez Beltrán had encouraged her to run for office, called the situation “deeply troubling” and said it had gone beyond healthy disagreement.
“We come from different perspectives, with different priorities, and those differences are not only natural, they are essential to a good government,” she said. “But when disagreement turns into consistent interpersonal conflict, when meetings become tense and unproductive, and when headlines shift from policy to personal disputes, we have a problem.
“I am asking all involved to step back, reassess and come to the table with a genuine intent to repair and reset.”
The council has referred the matter to both the Fair Political Practices Commission and the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury for further review.
Calvin Nuttall is a Morgan Hill-based freelance reporter.
She is insane and needs to resign
Thank goodness the wise voters of MH did not elect her to be our Mayor!
And I agree she should resign in shame…