(The Center Square) — The San Diego City Council approved a $146,000 settlement with former Chief Operating Officer Eric Dargan, agreeing to give Dargan more money than what he claimed the city owed him.
The settlement, which was OK’d at Tuesday’s council meeting, is higher than the $120,000 Dargan claimed he was owed in his lawsuit filed against the city in March.
Dargan was hired by San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria as the COO in 2022. Dargan claims he took the position, deciding to relocate him and his family from Texas to California, because Gloria promised to give him three months of severance pay if the city were to plan on terminating him. Gloria’s promise — as well as a promise to provide Dargan with three months’ notice of his intent to terminate his employment — was written in a letter that both Gloria and Dargan signed.
When Dargan was let go by Gloria in February, the former COO claims Gloria violated his promises. Dargan then filed a lawsuit in March against the city, asking the city pay him $120,000 for his three month severance pay.
Dargan’s lawsuit also includes claims of discrimination by Gloria and claims of failure to protect Dargan, who is Black, from discrimination by the city.
Council members Marni von Wilpert and Raul Campillo voted against the settlement.
Campillo said his decision had nothing to do with Dargan personally and he enjoyed working with him. However, he said he believed Dargan’s case lacked evidence, so the council member would not support it.
“I do not believe in selling this type of case when there is no evidence,” Campillo said during the meeting Tuesday.
Khayri Carter, director of communications and media relations for Wilpert, told the Center Square Wednesday that Wilpert shared the same philosophy as Campillo and does not vote in favor of items she believes lack evidence.
The $146,000 will be paid to Dargan from a public liability fund. Some people, however, believe the money should be taken from Gloria’s office budget.
“That $146,000 settlement needs to be paid out of Mayor Todd Gloria’s office budget, not from the public liability fund,” a person told the council during public comments at Tuesday’s meeting. “This lawsuit represents a personal failure on behalf of Todd Gloria and his staff. It is not a public failure. The public is not liable.”
More information regarding the settlement is expected later this week.
