By Ted AYALA

Glendale City Council on Tuesday night urged Councilmember Dave Weaver to enroll in sexual harassment training after allegations came to light accusing him of inappropriate behavior, including groping a woman in Montrose last year.

The allegations were brought to public attention last month.

A former friend of Weaver’s, Lolita Gonzalves, claimed that he reached out to grope her breast during an argument at a local Mexican restaurant last year. Weaver claims to have only brushed her away, not grope her.

Gonzalves reported the incident to City Atty. Michael J. Garcia the next day who then directed her to file a report with the Glendale Police Dept. (GPD).

Further aggravating Weaver’s critics has been his casual use of sexually inappropriate language in front of city staff, which he freely admitted to in the wake of the scandal.

In a terse statement read aloud by Councilmembers Ara J. Najarian and Frank Quintero on behalf of the city council and mayor, Weaver was admonished for making “demeaning and cavalier comments” that “appalled” the council.

“There is a need [for him] to truly acknowledge how out-of-line his comments were,” read Najarian.

Quintero added that the councilmembers act as “custodians of the public trust” and that it was important to adhere to behavior commensurate with their position.

“It is important to us … that we hold one another accountable for our actions,” he read. “It was disturbing [to learn] about the allegations against [Councilmember] Weaver. It is unacceptable. As councilmembers, we felt it was our responsibility to speak out and voice our disapproval.”

Gonzalves had earlier demanded a written apology and $10,000 from Weaver. He declined to do so. Both are currently engaging in negations to enter an out-of-court settlement on the matter.

Weaver was unavailable for comment.

  Ted Ayala