Paso Robles’ City Manager Ty Lewis has returned to work after months on medical leave. It had to be an awkward homecoming. This year, Lewis filed a $2.275 million claim against the city, alleging a hostile work environment. That claim was later denied, paving the way for a future lawsuit.
Lewis says his health problems were primarily caused by Councilmember Chris Bausch, whom he’s accused of harassment and defamation. He says Bausch made up false rumors about him attending sex parties and then shared them with Cal Coast News. Bausch has denied those allegations.
Bausch isn’t the only guilty party, according to Lewis. In an email from Mayor John Hamon, which Lewis shared with the San Luis Obispo Tribune, the mayor reportedly acknowledged that a “very real conspiracy group” has been trying to oust Lewis from his job.
If there’s any truth to that, the group has failed in its mission. With clearance from his doctors, Lewis returned to City Hall on Wednesday.
“My whole focus has been to stabilize my health, which appears to have happened,” he told the Tribune. “Those who have been holding down the fort, so to speak, at the city have been under a lot of pressure and stress and increased workloads, and I have an obligation to get back to help the city to alleviate some of those challenges that others have experienced in my absence.”