Questions about the organization’s survival are raised after the president terminated the vice president and trustees resigned in protest.
Concerns – and eyebrows – were raised at the April 10 La Jolla Town Council meeting as President Mary Soriano terminated Vice President Peter Wulff, leading to Wulff speaking out in his defense as other Town Council trustees resigned.
The La Jolla Town Council is an all-volunteer community advocacy entity and is not an official advisory group for the city of San Diego. The council was established in 1950.
During the April 10 meeting, according to the Zoom recording, Soriano stated she would be eliminating some of the current 13 trustees who are not fulfilling the criteria in the Town Council’s commitment statement, criteria that include trustees must attend meetings, join a committee and perform four hours a month of community service.
“I move and I execute,” Soriano said. “It might not gel with some people, but I get things done.”
Citing Wulff’s failure to join at least one Town Council committee or joint committee, which is grounds for “immediate termination,” Soriano said, “I’m going to terminate [Vice President] Peter Wulff.”
Mary Soriano, president of the La Jolla Town Council,
terminated Vice President Peter Wulff, leading to conflict.
Soriano added Wulff had also done public interviews and requested an executive meeting to “question my leadership,” further validating his termination.
Wulff, attending the meeting virtually, responded “the audience needs to know what you’re doing here is arbitrary [and] malicious.”
“Do not challenge me,” Soriano said, indicating Wulff should be muted for the remainder of the meeting.
La Jolla Town Council has “suffered weaker leadership for years,” Wulff told lajolla.ca April 18, and has “gone off the rails” since the end of 2024.
Wulff is currently behaving as if he is not terminated, he said, as there was not a quorum April 10 and the board was not advised of or asked about the termination, which he said is required.
“In public, [Soriano] fired me of her own unilateral volition,” Wulff said.
La Jolla resident Chas. Dye resigned his trustee post after the April 10 meeting, agreeing with Wulff that there weren’t enough trustees to take action and Soriano acted inappropriately.
“It’s too much drama,” Dye said, adding La Jolla Town Council trustee Charmaine Haworth also resigned after the meeting.
Soriano declined a request for an interview.
Wulff has called for a vote of no confidence, acting on the premise that he is still vice president since Soriano acted alone, though the Town Council’s website currently shows Wulff’s and Haworth’s positions as vacant.
“I’m trying to do things by the book,” he said. “Her ambition has gotten ahead of her acting responsibly.”
Any organization “has to run on collaboration,” he added. “It’s a big mess.”
Other, unrelated resignations bring the total number of active trustees to seven; the group is struggling to find new trustees, Soriano said during a plea for membership the week before the April 10 meeting.
Moving forward, Dye said he might rejoin Town Council if the group clarifies its mission and Soriano is no longer a participant.
La Jolla Town Council “used to have a lot of clout, [but it] now seems to be struggling for relevance,” Dye said. “I want Town Council to survive, I care about La Jolla.”
Wulff doesn’t think the 75-year-old organization will survive, however, and said even without Soriano, he would not pursue a role. “It should be a clean slate. … It needs a fresh face.”
© lajolla.ca
Questions about the organization’s survival are raised after the president terminated the vice president and trustees resigned in protest.
Concerns – and eyebrows – were raised at the April 10 La Jolla Town Council meeting as President Mary Soriano terminated Vice President Peter Wulff, leading to Wulff speaking out in his defense as other Town Council trustees resigned.
The La Jolla Town Council is an all-volunteer community advocacy entity and is not an official advisory group for the city of San Diego. The council was established in 1950.
During the April 10 meeting, according to the Zoom recording, Soriano stated she would be eliminating some of the current 13 trustees who are not fulfilling the criteria in the Town Council’s commitment statement, criteria that include trustees must attend meetings, join a committee and perform four hours a month of community service.
“I move and I execute,” Soriano said. “It might not gel with some people, but I get things done.”
Citing Wulff’s failure to join at least one Town Council committee or joint committee, which is grounds for “immediate termination,” Soriano said, “I’m going to terminate [Vice President] Peter Wulff.”
Mary Soriano, president of the La Jolla Town Council, terminated Vice President Peter Wulff, leading to conflict.
Soriano added Wulff had also done public interviews and requested an executive meeting to “question my leadership,” further validating his termination.
Wulff, attending the meeting virtually, responded “the audience needs to know what you’re doing here is arbitrary [and] malicious.”
“Do not challenge me,” Soriano said, indicating Wulff should be muted for the remainder of the meeting.
La Jolla Town Council has “suffered weaker leadership for years,” Wulff told lajolla.ca April 18, and has “gone off the rails” since the end of 2024.
Wulff is currently behaving as if he is not terminated, he said, as there was not a quorum April 10 and the board was not advised of or asked about the termination, which he said is required.
“In public, [Soriano] fired me of her own unilateral volition,” Wulff said.
La Jolla resident Chas. Dye resigned his trustee post after the April 10 meeting, agreeing with Wulff that there weren’t enough trustees to take action and Soriano acted inappropriately.
“It’s too much drama,” Dye said, adding La Jolla Town Council trustee Charmaine Haworth also resigned after the meeting.
Soriano declined a request for an interview.
Wulff has called for a vote of no confidence, acting on the premise that he is still vice president since Soriano acted alone, though the Town Council’s website currently shows Wulff’s and Haworth’s positions as vacant.
“I’m trying to do things by the book,” he said. “Her ambition has gotten ahead of her acting responsibly.”
Any organization “has to run on collaboration,” he added. “It’s a big mess.”
Other, unrelated resignations bring the total number of active trustees to seven; the group is struggling to find new trustees, Soriano said during a plea for membership the week before the April 10 meeting.
Moving forward, Dye said he might rejoin Town Council if the group clarifies its mission and Soriano is no longer a participant.
La Jolla Town Council “used to have a lot of clout, [but it] now seems to be struggling for relevance,” Dye said. “I want Town Council to survive, I care about La Jolla.”
Wulff doesn’t think the 75-year-old organization will survive, however, and said even without Soriano, he would not pursue a role. “It should be a clean slate. … It needs a fresh face.”
© lajolla.ca
