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CITY MANAGER EXITS JOB
By Brian Hews and Brian Hews
(Lynwood) Hews Media Group-Community News (HMG-CN) obtained a 72-page confidential document in the mail this week that outlines in great detail the results an “administrative investigation” that was conducted by Irvine Attorney Jeffrey B. Love out of Orange County.
The private investigation concluded that Lynwood Mayor Salvador Alatorre violated various city laws and ethical standards against City Manager Roger Haley after the two individuals engaged in numerous racially related exchanges between the two top city officials.
Haley, who is African American, charged in the complaint that Mayor Alatorre, a Latino, “violated the City of Lynwood’s rules regarding hostile work environment, discrimination and retaliation.”
This week Haley abruptly announced that he would no longer be employed by the City of Lynwood. City Attorney Fred Galante, in an interview with HMG-CN, confirmed that Haley was “no longer the city manager as of August 1.”
“Mr. Haley has retired from the City of Lynwood,” said Galante. “We won’t go into the specifics on why Mr. Haley retired,” he said. Haley was reportedly making $220,000 per year in salary and had been the top administrator of Lynwood since 2007.
Haley said, “he has numerous offers in the private sector, I will go on vacation for two weeks, come back and make my decision.”
The relationship between Haley and Alatorre was strained and sources inside Lynwood City Hall say the two “actually hated each other.”
“They couldn’t stand each other, and butted heads all the time,” one Lynwood official said in an interview. “It was about power and control, and Alatorre thinks he is running the entire City of Lynwood because he sits in the mayor’s chair,” the official who did not want to be publicly identified told HMG-CN.
Haley stressed in the report that he believes that the treatment he received by Mayor Alatorre “is motivated by his (Alatorre) dislike of Mr. Haley, due to the fact that he is African-American as well as the fact that Mr. Haley has not complied with a number of demands of Mayor Alatorre, which Mr. Haley finds either unethical or possibly unlawful,” the report states.
Attorney Love gathered numerous documents including emails, memoranda and other relevant documentary evidence related to Haley to conduct his inquiry.
At least 15 current Lynwood city officials as well as residents were interviewed about in the investigation including Councilwoman Aide Castro.
Galante, who works for the Law Firm of Alshire and Wynder, told HMG-CN in an interview on Wednesday that the “release of the full unedited report was never authorized by anyone with the City of Lynwood.”
“There was credible evidence to conclude that Mayor Alatorre has, on a number of occasions, and on a routine basis, violated the laws of the Lynwood City’s Municipal statues regarding issues concerning the Code of Ethics, as well as LMC Section 2-2.8 which forbids the City Council in dealing with subordinate employees except through the city manager,” the report concluded.
The report goes on to state that “although this investigation was administrative in nature, it appeared to this fact finder (Attorney Love) that Mayor Alatorre violated the laws of the City’s municipal code on a number of occasions. These violations are considered criminal acts punishable as a misdemeanor.”
City Councilwoman Aide Castro said in an interview that City Manager Haley was “railroaded out of office by Mayor Alatorre.”
“Let’s be real, Haley was forced to resign, he didn’t retire,” Castro said.
“I will not talk about the specifics of the report, but I will go on the record as saying that Roger Haley was the best city manager Lynwood has ever seen. Roger was responsible for getting Lynwood back on track, he was an amazing city manager who did not deserve to be treated this way,” Castro said.
Alatorre did not return numerous calls regarding this article, and Haley could not be reached for comment as well.
Galante said he has conducted a “training session” with Mayor Alatorre regarding how to comply with “various and numerous city codes of ethics.”
“I cannot discuss the particulars of the case,” Galante said.
Asked if the city would seek prosecution of Alatorre in the matter, Galante responded by stating “the report was received and filed by the city council and that no other action will be taken.”
I know it is picky picky picky BUT nowhere in any of the articles does it state which party either of these two political figures belong to. Why is this? Oh I forgot the obamazombie propaganda ministry has complete charge of all media now. They will publish nothing negative about liberal democrats, BUT if any of them were conservative republicans ( of which none exist ANYWHERE in local governments in So CA) they would have noted it in the FIRST sentence in the first few words!
Ok HMG what political party do these guys belong to? Why do we want to know? Because if they are democraps we expect MORE of the models like Detroit, etc! Kinda gives all of us warm and fuzzy feelings……
Leticia Vasquez was once Mayor of Lynwood and she was recalled. I believe that by comparrison, the council that Vasquez served on was still full of more crooks. Vasquez was not the worst of the bunch, but she was pretty damn close. Her royality act really embarrassed the community and made a fool of her.
I still cannot believe that she got elected to the Central Basin Water Board. Goes to show you what a handful of money people can do when they find the right vessel to float in front of the voters. Let’s face it, if some rich guy could raise the Titantic from the bottom of the Atlantic, some fools would pay good money to hop on board.
As long as there’s idiots registered to vote, Leticia Vasquez will keep getting elected.
Is this guy related to that Richard Alatorre guy that was an LA City Councilman but left office under a cloud of discount roofing bribery allegations http://articles.latimes.com/1998/aug/01/local/me-9118 only later to resurface as a lobbyist, are these guys related?
FOR THE RECORD TO CLEAR MY NAME,
First I would like to aopologized for not returning the One phone call I recieved in my office.
I am disappointed that only one page of the full 72 page Investigation Report is available in your News report.
Any one that will have acess to the document will find Mr. Jeffrye E Love the Fact Finder Investagator Statement on Page Number One Paragraph 3.
Reads,
“Based on the greater waeight of the Credible Evidence, it does not apear that Mayor Alatorre, in his capacity as the Mayor of the city of Lynwood(the City), has engaged in behavior that would be in violationof the City’s rules against hostile work environment, discrimination and retaliation . 1 The was evidence to show that Mayor Alatorre violated the Lynwood Municipal Code 2-1.7(e)(18)realted to “Positive Work Environment” There does not seems to besufficient eveidence to say that Mayor Alatorre engaged in a behavior that would fall with in the generally eccepted defination of “Hostile work environment”
All I can tell my Connstituants that as MAYOR I was doing and will continue to do just what I was elected to do ask lot of questions.
Regardinng Council woman Castro Short Memory and statements about “Railroading The City Manager” Mr. Haley anounced his Retirement last year during his Performance Review that he was Retiring, at the END of his contract August 5th 2013 so all Council members with little Brain will Remenber that.
The fact of the matter is that Council member Castro wants to distract the Lynwopod Community because we have a Multimillion Contract in our hands and she wants to control it, the word is that she is trying to Collect Money in excahnge for a Promised that she might not be able to deliver!
Remember former Lynwood Council member Fernado Pedroza (Castro’s First Cousing) Procecuted for Bribery along with others, but that an other Horror Story!
I respectfully ask the editor if this New paper to Post this response, for poeple to read both sides of the story.
Sincerely
Salvador (Sa)l Alatorre
Lynwood Mayor