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Paso Robles releases first batch of Bausch's public records. Here's what they show
The city of Paso Robles released the first batch of public records from Councilmember Chris Bausch's personal devices Friday night, the first step in fulfilling a court order filed in The Tribune's lawsuit against the city and councilman.
In total, The Tribune received 142 documents from the city — 109 emails and 33 emailed attachments — dating back two years.
Bausch said he submitted more than 5,000 emails and texts for the city's review. So this represents only a fraction — about 3% — of the total that Bausch turned over to the city.
The emails — which Bausch delayed turning over for months despite numerous public records requests — overwhelmingly center around the community's disdain for the now-repealed paid parking program in downtown Paso Robles.
Notable communications show Bausch fielding public comments for City Council meetings, communicating with Cal Coast News reporter Karen Velie, and contributing to a cease-and-desist letter served to the city amid the parking controversy.
None of the documents confirm or deny any of the allegations laid out in former city manager Ty Lewis' claim filed against the city — which alleged Bausch harassed him, spread rumors about him and led a concerted effort to oust him from his job — but the documents do shed light into volatility within the city that contributed to the eventual dispute between Lewis and Bausch.
Several show outright disdain for the city manager, who left his position with the city on Jan. 26 after accepting a $365,000 settlement.
The records received by The Tribune on Friday are the first batch to be released by the city after The Tribune filed its lawsuit in March.
The lawsuit was propelled by a string of public records requests that went unfulfilled for months after Bausch 'explicitly refused' to follow the law, according to the city.
The requests covered texts and emails stored on Bausch's personal devices, including conversations leading up to City Council meetings for the last two years, conversations between Bausch and members of the group that allegedly conspired to oust Lewis and conversations referring to Lewis.
The Tribune made the requests in an effort to better understand the circumstances that led to Lewis' claim against the city.
Bausch searched his devices and turned the records over to the city on May 16, following a court order issued by Judge Michael Kelley. Kelley then ordered the city to provide an initial drop of documents to The Tribune by Friday.
He also submitted a signed declaration on May 30 attesting to the thoroughness of his search.
The city noted it did not withhold any records among the batch it released on Friday.
That leaves. more than 4,800 records for the city's lawyers to review, including texts off Bausch's personal phone. They are set to be delivered by June 16.
The majority of emails provided Friday refer to the city's now-repealed paid parking program.
Paid parking was introduced in Paso Robles in 2019, but it grew into a major trigger point after the City Council voted in November 2023 to change the parking rates.
While drivers previously got a free two hours of parking before being charged, the 2023 decision would have charged drivers $1 per hour from the time of their arrival, The Tribune reported at the time.
The outrage over the paid parking program ultimately led Templeton resident Gary Lehrer to send a cease-and-desist letter to the city, alleging the council violated the Brown Act when it voted to approve the rate changes.
The cease-and-desist letter resulted in a temporary pause on the parking program, and the council subsequently voted in May 2024 to repeal the program entirely, The Tribune reported.
While it was no secret that Bausch supported the push to do away with paid parking, emails provided Friday show he had a hand in writing the letter submitted by Lehrer, and helped review citizens' public comments before they were read into the record at council meetings.
The emails also revealed frustration among Paso Robles residents at the time and a sense of distrust in their elected officials — including Lewis.
A thread from December 2023 showed Lehrer and Bausch in the initial stages of planning a legal challenge to the city's parking program.
On Dec. 12, Lehrer emailed Bausch what appeared to be a transcript of the meeting at which the parking rate decision was made.
'I hope what you are looking for is in here,' Lehrer wrote.
Bausch responded: '95% sure, want to take another look at it. I also like the part where it is clarified that this motion only provides direction to staff. This is an AMAZING start. Thank you. It is proof we are on the right track. If we are serious about mounting a challenge to parking, I'd recommend pursuing a court worthy version of a transcript. Thoughts?'
Lehrer responded that he would look into getting a transcript ready for court and planned to speak at the next council meeting. Bausch then gave Lehrer directions on what to do with the transcript, and mentioned Lewis and Paso Robles Mayor John Hamon.
'Any logic in giving Hamon a heads up this is happening?' Bausch wrote. 'As mayor, he should be telling Ty what to do, not the other way around.'
Bausch also appeared to give Lehrer advice on a letter to the editor he intended to submit regarding the parking issue. Similarly, other threads showed Bausch apparently giving people feedback on public comments or other communications to the city about parking before they were submitted.
In a subsequent email, Lehrer said he wasn't sure about telling Hamon and asked Bausch if he thought the mayor was a strong leader.
'Well, I did at one point but I am beginning to think he needs some strong prompts,' Bausch responded.
Another email thread between the two showed that Lehrer sent Bausch a draft of the cease-and-desist letter on January 7, 2024.
To that message, Bausch responded, 'Gary, Received. Thank you for drafting this. First read looks good. Will print, reread and edit if-where necessary tomorrow.'
On Jan. 8, Lehrer responded, 'Here's the word doc, go ahead and edit it!'
Attached to that email was a draft of the cease-and-desist letter that was eventually sent to the city. There did not appear to be a subsequent emails showing any edits made by Bausch in this batch of records.
The allegation that the council violated public meeting law when it approved the parking change was also shared with Cal Coast News reporter Karen Velie by Bausch on Dec. 20, 2023. In that email, Bausch said the minutes from the meeting were 'being twisted and reinterpreted to fit a misappropriated narrative.'
'Why should anyone trust what the mayor, the City Council, the city manager or the city attorney tell us?' Bausch asked Velie.
A similar comment was made by Bausch in a July 17 email to former City Council candidate Linda George.
'Opportunity awaits,' Bausch wrote, linking a Cal Coast News article on paid parking. 'Just a thought but candidates and their managers might want to comment on why the current council chooses to protect the city manager, legal counsel, and paid parking advisers at the expense of taxpaying voters.'
'Receive and disseminated to the proper parties,' George responded. 'Thank you for that.'
Bausch responded: 'Choose your words wisely, sparingly. And please proofread very carefully. Thank you.'
Bausch, Velie, Lehrer and George were all accused in Lewis' claim or addendum documents of being involved in the effort to remove him from office. They all denied the allegations, or declined to comment.
Other parking-related emails also showed hostility toward Lewis.
On March 20, 2024, Park Cinemas owner John Roush — a known opponent to paid parking — forwarded Bausch an email thread between Roush and Lewis. It began with Lewis asking to meet with Roush and another individual named David to discuss issues with the parking referendum.
No meeting was ever set in stone, so Lewis detailed what he wanted to discuss in a later email to Roush and Lehrer. He said the city attorney identified potential problems with the referendum, including details that were out of compliance with elections code.
'Although the city is a neutral party in this process and cannot give legal advice, I felt an obligation to reach out and make you aware of potential areas of concern,' Lewis wrote. 'I realize home (sic) much time, effort and money the group is putting into the referendum effort and I don't want you caught flat-footed.'
The thread does not show Roush responding to Lewis — but it does show that he forwarded the conversation Bausch.
'FYI ONLY. Don't want him to know I sent to you. Hopefully, he'll bury himself,' Roush wrote.
The parking referendum ultimately gained around 2,400 signatures and was submitted to the city in April 2024 in hopes that it would be placed on the November 2024 ballot. Paso Robles rejected the referendum due to mistakes like not including the proper name and ordinance number.
The city ultimately rescinded the parking program on its own in response to the backlash.
Another notable instance of communication between Velie and Bausch included Velie sending Bausch a list of questions on May 8, 2024 — the day Bausch was set to appear on her KPRL radio show, 'Sound Off,' according to its website.
The list included questions about paid parking and the Paso Robles airport, including a few pointed questions at Hamon and Lewis.
'Did Hamon sound irritated?' one of the questions read.
'What did you think of Ty manipulating the council in his response regarding evidence of tickets paid?' said another.
'Why is the city manager not pushing paying back the public?'
Velie then transitioned into questions about the Paso Robles airport and, more specifically, Loyd's Aviation.
'Why do you think there is a lack of transparency? Do you know if Ty Lewis is personal friends with the current owner of Lloyds Aviation?' some of the questions read. 'Do you have concerns that Lloyds Aviation is being sold?'
The questions about Loyd's Aviation are notable because of an allegation in Lewis' claim that said Bausch accused Lewis of being personal friends with the owner and fixing the applicant process to favor him. Lewis denied the allegation.
Instead, the claim said, Bausch was the one who pressured Lewis not to allow the City Council ad hoc committee's recommendation to move forward. Bausch then accused Lewis of 'unethical behavior for personal gain,' the claim said. A similar comment had been made in the media.
Because KPRL's audio files are routinely deleted, it's unclear if that rumor was discussed on May 8 after Velie sent Bausch the questions. However, Bausch was scheduled to discuss the paid parking program and the airport that day, according to the website.
Additionally, Lewis made mention of the rumor just a few days later, an email previously obtained by The Tribune shows.
On May 14, Lewis asked Loyd's Aviation owner Ryan Crowl if his business was being sold, to which Crowl responded with a resounding no.
'I made this pretty clear in public comment at the second Ad Hoc committee meeting. Our company is NOT for sale. We are not and have never actively tried to sell it nor have we expressed a desire to anyone. I cannot say this more emphatically,' he wrote.
Lewis responded: 'I appreciate the clarification and transparency. The city is doing its best to maintain a level playing field. There is much misinformation circulating in the community and hearing it straight from the source is appreciated. I am confident Mr. Bausch and the other council members will accurately convey this to constituents during their future discussions.'
The email also included a post-script: 'PS - The other rumor circulating is that somehow we know each other and I am steering this process in your favor.'
Another pattern visible in the documents provided Friday was Bausch's habit of forwarding emails from his city account to his personal email address.
Several emails between Bausch and Velie or Lehrer were also titled 'private, confidential,' despite having no legal grounds for confidentiality, and then being shared by Bausch himself in response to the Public Records Act.
Some of the emails Bausch forwarded to himself were meeting minutes or agendas. Several show him forwarding city emails to his personal account, then using his personal account to share and discuss the forwarded message with someone else.
For example, on March 7, 2024, Bausch forwarded an email from Ray Katz to Lehrer asking if Katz should be added to the parking referendum committee, to which Lehrer responded 'had really bad experiences with Ray' and 'he just really irritates me.'
Bausch also forwarded the same email to Jan Albin, an opponent of paid parking. The email sent by Ray was the same email that prompted the March 8, 2024, Angela's Pastries meeting, records show, which Bausch recorded but refused to disclose despite The Tribune's Public Records Act request until Velie leaked the recording on her website.
In a Nov. 29, 2023, exchange, Bausch forwarded a conversation between his city email and Lewis to his personal account where he and Lewis discussed whether a parking marketing campaign was approved in a motion.
Bausch used his personal account to send the conversation to Lehrer and wrote, 'This might be interesting to discuss with Karen's guest tomorrow,' and wrote at the top of the message 'private, confidential.'
Clive Pinder, host of KVEC's 'Cease Fire' radio show, was also a recipient of several of Bausch's communications.
Pinder, who appeared to support the parking referendum in his communications with Bausch, later authored multiple columns in the Paso Robles Daily News hashing out Lewis' claim against the city and the ensuing drama. The columns received criticism from Velie, Lehrer, George and others named in Lewis' claim documents.
The columns were quietly retracted in January after the news site received legal threats on behalf of Velie, Pinder told The Tribune at the time.
On Jan. 29, 2024, Bausch forwarded a conversation about parking between him and Lewis from the city server to his personal email, and then shared that thread with Pinder, saying 'FYI.'
On Jan. 30, 2024, Pinder forwarded an email exchange between him, then-assistant city manager Chris Huot and Lewis to Bausch. In the thread, Huot and Lewis both attempted to clear up misinformation about the paid parking program to the limit they were allowed, since the complaints about the program were still under review at the time.
The thread shows that on Jan. 26, Huot denied the allegation that the city violated the Brown Act when it approved the parking changes, but said the inquiries were under review.
Pinder then sent Huot a series of clarifying questions, asking whether or not the city planned to suspend the parking program during the review, and if residents would receive refunds for the fees paid out if the program was indeed approved outside of the law.
Huot responded that he couldn't speculate to answer the questions due to the ongoing review. Pinder pushed Huot on the questions, to which Lewis took over the conversation and responded to several of Pinder's questions.
Lewis added: 'I understand, support and appreciate the need for transparency. With that said, the city needs to understand the legal landscape before responding to the various legal opinions offered by various opponents and news agencies. ... If the city erred, rest assured we will do the right thing and correct any missteps. Alternatively, if there were no errs, we will provide the legal basis for actions to date.'
Pinder forwarded the conversation to Bausch, who made a snarky response.
'What is an 'err'?' the Councilman wrote. 'Tomorrow, let us also discuss Ty's hypocrisy as to the Building & Planning Depts. (Could be your next story).'
Another thread shows the same email chain forwarded by Pinder, but Lehrer is also included.
In that thread, Bausch provided answers to the questions Pinder asked of the city, citing 'a very credible source.' In his answers, Bausch said the decision about refunding fines was unknown at the time, but then asserted that the city wouldn't provide refunds unless ordered to do so by a court.
Bausch then forwarded the exchange to Lehrer, who made comments about the city's chosen parking vendor. Bausch responded that the city and city attorney failed to hold its parking vendor to reasonable standards.
Bausch added: 'Let the chips now fall where they may. May retribution be swift and sure.'
