An aide to West Hollywood City Council Member John Duran who was suspended for spying on a colleague is demanding his job back, saying he was simply looking out for the public’s best interest.
In an eight-page letter sent to the city Monday, Ian Owens’ attorney called his client a “whistle-blower” and threatened a lawsuit if he is not reinstated.
Owens was placed on administrative leave last month after allegedly bugging the office of Fran Solomon, an aide to Council Member John Heilman, and relaying parts of her private conversations to local bloggers and residents. City officials, as well as the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, are still investigating the incident.
In the letter, Owens’ attorney said he did not record any conversations, but simply heard them through “extremely thin walls.” The conversations had led him to suspect that Solomon was soliciting campaign contributions for her boss’ reelection on city time, and the aide immediately took the matter to his boss. His concerns were purportedly ignored, however, due to a personal spat between the two over rejected sexual advances. Only then, the attorney claims, did his client take the conversations to the public.
Duran has called the letter “an outrageous false accusation meant to detract from the wrongdoing that he did,” while Solomon has declined to comment on the matter.
Read more about the incident here.