Adam Jensen,
ajensen@tahoedailytribune.com
Julie Motamedi, chair of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's Governing Board, has resigned.Motamedi announced her decision in a letter to the TRPA on Dec. 21.
"It is with great regret, and after extensive reflection, that I am hereby tendering my resignation as chair and a member of the TRPA Governing Board, for personal reasons," the letter reads. ...
Motamedi's name surfaced in a Sacramento Bee article on Sunday detailing the paper's investigation into gun permits issued by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department.
According to that story, Motamedi was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving by the California Highway Patrol on Sept. 1, 2005 - a charge to which she reportedly pleaded no contest.
According to the Bee, the California Highway Patrol officer also cited her with a misdemeanor for carrying a concealed gun in violation of her permit.
The CHP alleged that Motamedi's alcohol use technically invalidated her weapon permit.
Prosecutors declined to pursue the weapons charge, according to the Bee. Motamedi reportedly denied having a gun with her at the time.
It was not clear whether that incident, or publicity of it, was a factor in Motamedi's resignation.
TRPA Governing Board Vice Chair Allen Biaggi is expected to assume the role of chairman until the board has a chance to vote on the matter, said TRPA spokesman Dennis Oliver.
--READ MORE --
See this related story: Investigative Report: Sheriff donors got gun permits
As Lou Blanas faces federal suit, a review finds some convicts also were granted papers in his term.
By Christina Jewett and Andrew McIntosh - cjewett@sacbee.com
...
After being arrested for drunken driving, allegedly with her gun in the car, one contributor kept her permit under Blanas and later renewed it under McGinness. Julie Motamedi's concealed weapon permit, first issued in 1999, is stamped with the standard county policy notice: invalid when the permit holder drinks alcohol.
Motamedi, whose then-husband contributed $1,750 to Blanas' campaign between 1998 and 2000, was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving on Sept. 1, 2005. The California Highway Patrol officer also cited her with a misdemeanor for carrying a concealed gun in her car without a permit, alleging that her permit was technically invalidated by her alcohol use.
Motamedi later pleaded no contest to drunken driving. The district attorney elected to not prosecute the weapons charge.
When Motamedi's permit came up for renewal last March, the brief form didn't ask if she had had any convictions since her last renewal in March 2005 and she did not note it.
McGinness said Motamedi's permit file had no record of her arrest by the CHP, adding "shame on us" for not finding it.
Motamedi, a Schwarzenegger appointee to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, said she erred in driving drunk, but insisted she did not have her gun with her. Asked why the CHP officer cited her for the weapon, she replied, "It was quite some time ago and I don't remember all the details."
McGinness said that based on The Bee's findings, he will review the status of several concealed gun permit holders and adopt a new rule: no permits for applicants with drunken driving convictions in the last five years.
