TULARE – Controversial Tulare Mayor Carlton Jones isn’t one to shy away from a fight and Thursday night he started one with the entire Central Valley agricultural community. The former MMA boxer (1-4 record) turned politician entered into a Facebook conversation with the founder of the “My Job Depends on Ag” movement Erik Wilson where the mayor claimed agriculture not only caused an increase in cancer and disease rates in the Valley but was also a waste of natural resources.
Wilson said he didn’t even know he was chatting with the mayor of Tulare until the next morning. Wilson said, “If it were the mayor of Berkeley I wouldn’t pay it any mind, but the mayor of a Central Valley city in the heart of agriculture?”
You don’t get any closer to the “Heart of Agriculture” than the city that hosts the annual World Ag Expo. Over a hundred thousand people working in the Ag industry gather in Tulare every February for the last 51 years for the world largest agriculture trade show featuring 1,480 exhibitors on 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space. CEO of the World Ag Expo Jerry Sinift said he was very disappointed with Mayor Jone’s comments.
Sinift told BVN, “I am extremely disappointed in the mayor’s lack of education in the importance of agriculture, especially in the Central Valley where I would bet at least 99.9% of everyone’s job depends on agriculture“.
Wilson told BVN, “This could be the most ignorant comments I have ever read on Facebook. Every single minute of your day you use Ag products. From the bed you sleep in, to the soap and towels you showered with, to the socks, pants and shirts you wear. The breakfast you ate, the car you drive and the books you read. The house you live in, the lawn you mow and everything else that sustains human beings comes from the Earth.”
When BVN asked Jones for a comment on his Facebook page, we were blocked from any future Facebook related communications with the Tulare mayor. An hour later we received a phone call from Jones who wanted to say while he supported agriculture, he felt I had to admit that the chemicals used in agriculture contaminated the Valley’s water, contributed to air pollution and caused an increase in asthma and cancer. I told him that I was sorry but that I couldn’t agree with his statement.
When Jones ran for the 26th district of the state assembly in 2014 he told voters, "In Sacramento, I will make sure that our communities have safe, clean water to drink and that our farmers have enough water to work. I will promote infrastructure to clean our water supplies as well as infrastructure to preserve our water for future use."
The Tulare mayor is no stranger to controversy. While going through a divorce, he was arrested and charged with felony spousal abuse for which he was eventual acquitted. A story published in Tulare’s ‘Valley Voice’ newspaper reported a scuffle between the then city councilman and Derek Thomas at the College of the Sequoias during a forum for the 2014 State Assembly Primary election. And following the September 19th Tulare City Council Meeting, Carlton Jones accosted one of his constituents, Alex Gutierrez, in city council chambers which was captured on video.
The video shows the mayor come down from the dais and walked towards Gutierrez. While the video shows the mayor pointing his finger in Gutierrez face, there is no sound recorded. The video concluded with Tulare County Fire Chief Willard Epps escorting the mayor away from the confrontation. According to Mr. Gutierrez, the incident came about because Gutierrez’ requested clarification of an agenda item. Gutierrez said that while walking back towards the dais, the mayor told Mr. Gutierrez “you had better be careful”.
In a February 21st meeting this year when the city council came back from closed session, the council and mayor just left the council chambers without reporting on closed session or closing the meeting. Mayor Jones told the media who stuck around, “Nothing to report at 11:25pm. Now you BAD NEWS Clowns can just leave.”
At the March 2018 meeting Tulare City Councilman Jose Sigala’s effort to pick a new mayor failed. David Macedo, the council’s longest-tenured member, voted to have the item appear on the agenda and before the council for possible action. Macedo said the vote was not for a change in leadership but just a discussion. After a vote, a motion to have the item included on the agenda failed with a 3-2 vote.
After Mr. Jones’ comments today on agriculture, local Tulare County farmers have promised to attend the council’s June meeting and fill the City Hall parking lots with their tractors as they demand the replacement of Mayor Jones. The mayor seems unfazed by the controversy saying he will debate any farmer on the merits of his comments.
