Discipline. Dismissal. Appointment of an interim city manager. A handful of business items on the table for the Lompoc City Council to discuss in closed session on July 14 were tied to City Manager Dean Albro’s performance evaluation.
Although the council ultimately gave Albro “a satisfactory review” and “did not consider or conduct the discipline/dismissal/release closed session or the appointment of an interim,” City Attorney Jeff Malawy reported, several public speakers criticized the council’s handling of those items.
Lompoc resident Carson Link described the topics agendized for closed session as “pretty shady” and “coming out of nowhere.”
“I’m not saying our city manager is perfect,” Link said. “It seems like a decision you should probably take to the community and discuss more openly than just having a closed, shotgun session where our city manager may lose his job.”
Among the following speakers, former Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne addressed her comments to Mayor Jim Mosby specifically.
“When I left that dais nearly two years ago, I handed you a successful community led by a very competent city manager. And I asked you not to fuck it up. And in less than eight months, you’ve slid downhill and you’re doing that with your behavior tonight,” Osborne said. “I know most of you work well with Dean. Most of you respect him. Most of you don’t think this is the right thing to do. So, I’m here to remind you that this is a pattern of behavior by the current mayor.
“Every time that he’s been on this dais, he has had a desire to fire a city manager,” Osborne continued. “He’s made life unbearable for … the person in that position.”
Another speaker, Shawna Stillwell, said she believes a personality conflict caused the discipline/dismissal/release item to be agendized.
“We don’t fire people because personalities clash,” Stillwell said. “If ‘I don’t like working with this person’ becomes a standard, every city employee becomes vulnerable to political retaliation.”
Prior to the July 14 meeting, Lompoc city staff received more than a dozen letters in support of Albro.
Among those submissions was a letter from a current city employee who said he feared potential retaliation from city officials by standing up for Albro.
“I still hesitate to make this comment, but my moral compass will always point true, and I can’t let this happen without saying something for the public record, even at the risk of committing career suicide,” Lompoc Accounting and Revenue Manager Matt Adams wrote. “At a time when senior leadership is changing rapidly, many directors and managers have left the city for other opportunities. Not all … for more money. Some have left because the constant combative work environment being perpetuated in the city creates a mental health concern.
“Dismissing the city manager at a time like this can have devastating effects for staff morale,” he continued. “Please carefully consider the decision you are facing tonight.”
This article appears in July 23 – July 30, 2026.
