The Santa Ana City Council has named Parks, Recreation and Community Services head Gerardo Mouet as interim city manager following a controversial vote to place City Manager David Cavazos on administrative leave. The decision to suspend Cavazos was made on Dec. 28 during a special meeting that Cavazos and his three supporters on the Council were unable to attend.
Cavazos will remain off the job “as the council continues to review and investigate current and former issues arising from his personal performance evaluations, including but not limited to the impacts of personal workplace relationships and the development of a romantic relationship policy,” according to a statement from City Attorney Sonia Carvalho.
As City News noted last year, an investigation into Cavazos revealed no violation of city policy, but did conclude that he had exposed the city to millions of dollars in potential liability. According to the report, Cavazos carried on a romantic relationship with a subordinate city employee in 2014 and did not disclose it until a year later. He was censured by the International City/County Management Association because of it.
Cavazos and his supporters maintain last month’s vote was purely political, driven by a spat with the Santa Ana Police Officers Association. The secretive handling of the decision was “shameless,” one community activist and former City Council candidate said.