Gone but Not Forgotten; 1989 Sean Mill Makes a Comeback in Riverside

It’s been a while since we’ve written about former Santa Ana Planning Commissioner Sean Mill; Last year, he won a squeaker of a district election for a spot on the Riverside City Council. And if you weren’t aware, the guy who used to write for this blog and the Orange Juice Blog is now a Trump Republican.  A source in Riverside let us know that Mill, and another city council member, are being sued by Riverside City Attorney Phaedra Norton for harassment, bullying, and Brown Act violations that she believes is because she is openly gay.

Norton is on administrative leave — and likely to be fired by the city council — filed a claim against the city of Riverside.  The claim is a step before a lawsuit, which Mill would be a party.  An FPPC complaint was filed against the pair last September.

From the Riverside Press-Telegram:

“The harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and isolation orchestrated by Conder and Mill and their allies are ongoing and have created an intolerable work environment,” the claim reads in part, “making it increasingly difficult for Norton to effectively perform her duties and uphold her responsibilities as city attorney.”

Norton, hired by the city in 2021 and poised for a contract extension and pay increase in 2024, alleges in her claim that Conder’s retaliation is the result of a February 2023 lawsuit she filed accusing Conder and a former council member, Steve Adams, of violating the Brown Act.

After Norton filed the lawsuit — an action that had the backing of Conder’s council colleagues — Conder “baselessly” accused the city attorney’s office of abusing its power, found her work “unsatisfactory” and openly expressed disdain for gay people, which was a “direct affront” to Norton, according to the claim.

…

According to Norton’s claim, Mill aligned himself with Conder in discriminatory acts. Mill “displayed hostility toward the LGBTQ+ community” when the council voted not to expand its list of commemorative flags in 2024, the claim reads in part, and Conder walked out of a council meeting recognizing a gay pride nonprofit. Those actions are an example of “discrimination and retaliation based on Norton’s sexual orientation,” according to the claim.

Hostility against the LGBTQ community?  Sean Mill?  The guy who took the floor in a planning commission meeting to talk about his strong support for this community having written scores of articles in support of them (articles no one can find on the Internet).  In the FPPC complaint, Mill’s 1989 Letter to the Editor that was published in the LA Times resurfaced.

Here’s the juicy parts of the complaint:

In March 2024, Council Member Sean Mill, openly aligned with (Councilmember Charles) Conder, indicated his loyalty and intentions to undermine Norton’s position as City Attorney.
This was followed by disturbing revelations in April 2024, where Norton discovered text messages between Conder and Tony Platt discussing efforts to terminate Norton’s
employment, praying for a good outcome in the elections indicating “there is a lot that you guys can do if you have the right people with you. . .” and directions from Council
Member Conder to Mr. Platt to keep talking to the new Council Members because they are the two votes that Conder will need if Platt and Conder are going to have a chance.

On April 5, 2024, Council Member Elect Sean Mill brazenly raised the issue of requiring the City Attorney to reside within the City of Riverside, pointedly inquiring about Norton’s residence despite understanding Norton did not live within the city City of Riverside limits. This inquiry was clearly intended to create a pretextual basis for targeting and
harassing Norton.

On April 8, 2024, Council Member Elect Mill openly expressed his opposition to flying the pride flag at any city facilities, displaying his hostility towards the LGBTQ+ community. He intentionally made these remarks to Norton fully aware of Norton’s identity as a member of the pride community. Additionally, he disclosed that he had previously written a discriminatory letter to the LA Times while serving on the Parks and Recreation Commission in Santa Ana, where he advocated against LGBTQ+ gatherings near churches or parks. Councilmember Mill has continuously engaged in extremely severe racial and sexually explicit comments creating an intolerable and hostile work environment.

Here’s Mill’s letter to the LA Times:

As a citizen of Santa Ana who is actively involved in city government, I am particularly interested in the homosexual festival proposed by Orange County Cultural Pride.

Homosexuals have the right to do as they wish in their bathhouses and bedrooms. Now, they want to desensitize the moral standards of our community. This will be damaging to our children, families and country.

SEAN H. MILL

Chairman

Board of Parks and Recreation

Santa Ana

In 2010, Mill left this message for then LiberalOC publisher Chris Prevatt (who has since retired and moved to France)

I see you put another piece-of-shit article in the Weekly about Ted Moreno (No Sex! Alleged Lies? Videotape? Sept. 18). I know you and your little queer art friends have it in for Ted, but this is yellow journalism at its worst. This is just ridiculous. If you and the rest of your little queer buddies are going to make attacks on Ted, well, go ahead.

talk shit about that you infected little shit? Go fuck yourself loser. 

Prevatt is an HIV-positive gay man.

I love the part where Mill advocates for the city attorney to be a city resident.  When he resigned from the Santa Ana planning commission in July 2016, a Private Investigator’s report showed Mill was living in Riverside.  Mill had utility bills in his name at a Rverside address.  Santa Ana neighbors hadn’t seen Mill at his mothers house in months.  Mill gave differing accounts of the date of his move to the OC Register and Riverside Press Telegram.  He told the Voice of OC he moved up to Riverside “in late June” but when the PI was caught taking photos by Mill’s wife on July 5, she told the PI “my husband lives in Santa Ana.” This said with Mill’s car parked in from of her home.  Did Mill not give his wife a new script or was he playing hide-and-seek for two weeks.  I nearly drove of the road after listening to Mill on the KFI John and Ken show address a question about his Santa Ana residency saying he was “cleared of any wrongdoing in an investigation.”  There was no investigation. Mill moved on and the city council did not want to deal with it.  And during Mill’s first run for Riverside City Council, he told voters he had been on that city’s airport commission since 2015, which requires residency.  Problem is, Mill was still a member of the Santa Ana Planning Commission, which also requires residency.

Mill finally got what he wanted.  Election to a city council position.  My source in Riverside says more FPPC complaints are pending.  But the September 2024 complaint shows that 1989 anti-LGBTQ Sean Mill has come full circle.

When new complaints hit the FPPC, we will let you know about them.

See this:  https://rightondailyblog.com/2019/04/riverside-city-council-race-update-extreme-left-wing-blogger-dan-chimelewski-lights-up-sean-mill-for-very-good-reasons/