The San Diego City Council agreed Tuesday to a $146,000 settlement with ousted former Chief Operating Officer Eric Dargan, ending what has been a convoluted process for the city.
Dargan was let go in February, with Mayor Todd Gloria thanking him for his service running city departments since his appointment in September 2022. The abrupt removal of Dargan from the job appeared on its face to be a layoff, as Gloria’s office absorbed the COO position in an ostensible cost-saving measure.
But it was followed in March by a discrimination suit, with Dargan saying he was not given three months of severance pay, in breach of contract.
Gloria then seemed to about-face, saying Dargan was fired for cause and thus was not owed severance pay.
The settlement passed Monday — with council members Marni von Wilpert and Raul Campillo opposing — was slotted into the council’s consent agenda and received only cursory comment from the public and council members alike. It is more than the $120,000 Dargan claims he was owed in the suit.
“I have nothing negative to say about Mr. Dargan as a person. He did right by my constituents,” Campillo said before stating there was no evidence to back Dargan’s claims, so he would not support the settlement.
Tuesday morning’s action may cap what has been a strange saga, involving claims of discrimination by Dargan — who is Black — and rumors that the former COO would fall asleep during meetings.
During Monday’s council meeting, Councilman Henry Foster III, the council’s budget committee chair, attempted to undo Gloria’s office taking over the COO position. He said the mayor was in over his head on how to manage the day-to-day operations of the city.
Ultimately, his colleagues disagreed, restoring Gloria’s line-item veto to keep the COO firmly in the city’s executive office in a 6-3 vote to pass the budget.
Ahead of Monday’s final budget vote, local activist Shane Harris said the COO job was important, because he believes Gloria “doesn’t know how to run a large-scale organizational operation like the city of San Diego, particularly during a budget crisis.”
The mayor dismissed the claims, laying the blame for future budget woes at the feet of the council.
“Today, some members of the City Council attempted to fully override my line-item veto, and they failed,” Gloria said in a statement after the vote Monday.
“That outcome affirms the need for fiscal responsibility and a realistic approach to budgeting — something I’ve committed to and San Diegans deserve. Let’s be clear: a full override would have doubled down on unrealistic assumptions, unsustainable spending, and decisions that put our city’s future at risk. That path was rejected.
“While the council has now chosen to partially override certain vetoes, I remain concerned that these actions could still weaken our ability to stay on stable financial footing. If their assumptions don’t hold, they’ll be responsible for the fallout: midyear cuts, layoffs, facility closures, brownouts, and broken promises to the communities we all serve.
“I did not run for mayor to repeat the mistakes of the past. I have been honest with San Diegans about our finances and made every effort to fix the structural deficit, making tough decisions necessary to build a stronger future.
“This is a moment for steady leadership, which I will continue to provide for all of us. San Diegans deserve no less.”
The $146,000 to be paid to Dargan will come from a public liability fund.
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