Fesia Davenport, Los Angeles County’s chief govt officer, obtained a $2-million settlement this summer season on account of skilled fallout from Measure G, a voter-approved poll measure that may quickly make her job out of date, in response to a letter she wrote to the county’s high lawyer.
Davenport wrote within the July 8 letter, which was launched by the county counsel by way of a public document request Tuesday, that she had been in search of $2 million in damages for “reputational hurt, embarrassment, and bodily, emotional and psychological misery attributable to the Measure G.”
Beneath Measure G, which voters authorised final November, the county chief govt, who manages the county authorities and oversees its price range, can be elected by voters as a substitute of appointed by the board. The elected county govt can be in place by 2028.
“Measure G is an unprecedented occasion, and has had, and can proceed to have, an unprecedented affect on my skilled repute, well being, profession, revenue, and retirement,” Davenport wrote to county counsel Dawyn Harrison. “My hope is that after setting apart the quantity of my ask, that there generally is a true deal with what the actual points are right here – measure G has irrevocably modified my life, my skilled profession, financial outlook, and plans for the longer term.”
The existence of the $2-million settlement, finalized in mid-August, was first reported Tuesday by LAist. It was unclear then what the settlement was for.
Davenport, a longtime county worker, was appointed chief govt in 2021.
Beneath the phrases of the settlement, Davenport can’t sue the county, together with for “any claims arising out of the info and circumstances surrounding the enactment of the poll proposition often known as ‘Measure G.’ ”
Davenport started a medical depart final week and informed employees she expects to be again early subsequent yr. She didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon the settlement.
Davenport’s Aug. 12 letter acknowledged that different division heads had obtained vital funds upon departure. She famous the prior chief govt officer, Sachi Hamai, had obtained $1.5 million. The letter additionally makes an obvious reference to Mary Wickham and Rodrigo Castro-Silva, mentioning the previous county attorneys by their final names.
Wickham obtained about $449,000 in severance pay and Castro-Silva obtained $213,000, in response to information obtained by The Instances.
“My circumstance is completely different in that I’m not in search of to depart, and I’ve suffered damages, by way of no fault of my very own,” she wrote.
Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Janice Hahn first introduced Measure G in July 2024, branding it as a long-overdue overhaul to the county’s sluggish paperwork. Beneath the constitution modification, the variety of supervisors elevated to 9 and the county chief govt will now be elected.
On Aug. 12, 2024, just a few weeks after the announcement, Davenport wrote a letter to Horvath saying the measure had impugned her “skilled repute” and would finish her profession at the least two years sooner than she anticipated, in response to one other letter launched Tuesday by way of a public information request.
“This has been a troublesome six weeks for me,” Davenport wrote in her letter. “It has created uncomfortable, awkward interactions between me and my CEO workforce (they’re involved), me and different departments heads (they’re apologetic), and even County outsiders (they suppose I’m being fired).”
Horvath’s workplace didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The place of elected CEO was by far essentially the most controversial a part of Measure G. Supporters stated that making the chief govt elected slightly than appointed would deliver extra accountability to one of many county’s strongest posts. Opponents warned it might consolidate an excessive amount of energy with one particular person and produce politics right into a basically bureaucratic place.
