The tense rivalry between Santa Barbara County district attorney candidates Josh Lynn and Joyce Dudley marked what was arguably the most heated political race of 2010.
The two attorneys slung insults and attacked each other’s campaign platforms like veteran politicos, with Dudley proving victorious come
Election Day.
Three days later, on June 11, Lynn was placed on administrative leave by then acting District Attorney Ann Bramsen. The decision created a bit of a stir in the news and among Lynn’s supporters.
Lynn told the Sun in an interview that summer that he received a call from Bramsen telling him “not to come in to work” the following week. He said he was served disciplinary papers at his home, but that the papers didn’t contain “any of the disciplinary information saying what I did wrong.”
Lynn alleged his former opponent Dudley pressured Bramsen into making the decision.
“The thing is, [Ann] can be fired, too, so she’s doing whatever Joyce tells her to do,” Lynn told the Sun at the time.
“I’m in total purgatory right now,” he continued. “After 15 years of reporting there, it doesn’t look like I’ll be coming back to work … if they smear my good name, it’ll affect my career and my ability to feed my family.”
In response, Bramsen sent out a press release in which she said she had placed Lynn on one day of paid administrative leave to ensure a smooth transition at the office after the election.
“The one paid day off was not a suspension, nor was it imposed for disciplinary purposes,” Bramsen said in the release.
She said Lynn took the one paid day off and “twisted it in an inappropriate way that is negatively affecting the office. … After I notified Mr. Lynn of his one paid day off, additional concerns arose that changed my view.”
But, as with all political scandals (if this can even be called that), the dusty clouds of controversy settled. Dudley assumed her position as the county’s head legal figure, and Lynn opened his own private law firm in Santa Barbara.
The incident did, however, trigger some professional introspection at the county level.
In May, the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury sent a letter to CEO Chandra Wallar reporting on the county’s at-will employee discipline policy. (Lynn was an at-will employee.)
According to the letter, “The jury received seven complaints concerning a highly publicized termination of an at-will employee. Additionally, a lawsuit filed by another at-will employee, who was terminated by a different county department, resulted in a $431,000 judgment against the county. Because there were two separate departments involved in these terminations, the jury perceived the problem to be systemic.”
The aforementioned lawsuit was filed by Heidi Garcia, an employee of the county’s Department of Alcohol, Drug, and Mental Health Services. Garcia alleged—and a jury later agreed—she had been discriminated against because of her gender. She said the county failed to investigate her claim and retaliated against her by terminating her position.
However, the jury found that the county didn’t violate regulations for firing at-will employees in either case because, at that time, the county didn’t have a written policy or procedure for terminating at-will employees. The absence of such a policy, the jury said, exposed the county to litigation.
Jerri Muth, the county’s interim director of human resources, said the county created a written disciplinary policy in January after newly appointed CEO Wallar asked
for one.
“At-will employees, by definition, serve at the pleasure of the hiring head,” Muth said. “But it’s still a good idea to be very clear with people that they are at-will employees.”
The new policy requires that all department heads contact the human resources department as soon as it appears likely an investigation could lead to serious disciplinary action.
Muth said the department in question, human resources, and county counsel are required to consult and “create strategies to strengthen the county’s position if there should be a lawsuit.”
Another change, Muth said, is that the county now clearly defines the meaning of “at-will employee” in all of its advertisements, during the interview process, and again in any written job offers it extends.
When asked on June 27 about the county’s employee disciplinary policy, Lynn said he wasn’t well versed in the policy’s language, but he was glad to see that there’s now a formal process on the books.
“Just as a taxpayer, I want there to be an open and fair process,” Lynn said. “In the end, you want people to feel like they’ve been treated fairly even if they weren’t happy with the results [of the disciplinary actions].”
Lynn said he never considered suing the county over his dismissal, but he admitted his situation “was probably unique.”
“Elections are exhausting whether you win or lose,” he said. “The only thing I’ll really say about what happened is that it was a challenge leaving [the DA’s office] so suddenly.
“I wish nothing but the best for the DA’s office. It’s somewhere I put my heart and soul into for 15 years,” he added.
Contact Managing Editor Amy Asman at aasman@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 30 – Jul 7, 2011.
