Hardy Brown, Sr. | Photo by © Benoit Malphettes
I do not know if the Mayor and Council set out in January 2023 to hire a Latino as City Manager. However, I do know what preceded the selection of Charles Montoya. To provide a brief background, the Mayor and Council unanimously appointed Charles McNeely, who is Black, to manage the city for six months, starting in January and ending on June 30, 2023, with a possible extension until a permanent manager was recruited. This decision received overwhelming support from city staff, business leaders, and a broad cross-section of the community. Citizens of every race expressed their approval before the Council, commending the decision as beneficial for the city.
Within a couple of months, citizens reported improved service from every city department. By the end of June, the city staff presented a “Strategic Plan” for the city, which was well received by the community and Council.
Before delving into the city’s recruitment and selection process, which is conducted mostly in closed session under California Law, known as “The Brown Act,” I should mention that this Council has appointed eight to 10 City Managers in the past 12-15 years, with only one being Black—and he was so effective they hired him twice.
The city is now facing a $2,231,250 claim filed by a candidate, Steve Carrigan, alleging racial discrimination because he is white. According to Carrigan, the city damaged his reputation and intentionally inflicted severe emotional distress on him with malice, engaging in unprivileged conduct due to his race, as stated in his Claim Summary of Facts filed on November 30, 2023.
Carrigan mentioned that in July 2023, he was contacted by Frank Rojas, Recruitment Manager for Koff & Associates, and was asked to apply for the City Manager position in San Bernardino. He had two interviews with the San Bernardino Council, one via Zoom on August 5 and another in person on August 18. After the second interview, Rojas informed Carrigan that it was a “dead-heat” between him and another candidate.
Following the interviews, the Council unanimously decided to offer the City Manager position to their top candidate, who was Black and withdrew his candidacy during the job offer. Rojas then informed Carrigan that he was the finalist and that the Council wanted to proceed with him. Sonia Carvalho, the City Attorney, stated publicly that the top candidate withdrew for personal and professional reasons, noting that while it is rare for a candidate to withdraw after an announcement, it is always a possibility.
After Rojas’s second call, Thomas Rice, the Chief Assistant City Attorney who had been involved in the interviews with Carrigan, reached out via email with a job offer from the Council. Rice indicated that the full Council would consider his employment agreement on August 28, 2023, during a Closed Session Meeting.
On page 2 of Carrigan’s Summary of Facts, he narrates a conversation with Rojas about the challenges of getting employed in San Bernardino due to the city’s history of public leaks until the majority on the Council secures their preferred candidate.
Racial dynamics were introduced into the selection process by Frank Rojas, Recruitment Manager for Koff & Associates, and Ms. Suzie Soren, San Bernardino’s Human Resources Director, as indicated by Carrigan in his claim. Rojas told Carrigan that several African American community members spoke against him during a Council meeting on August 28, 2023, and that three Council members did vote to extend an employment contract.
I reviewed the video of the August 28th Special Council Meeting, and race was never mentioned in any remarks made by the Black speakers, who included prominent community leaders and activists: Pastor Joshua “Josh” Beckley of Ecclesia Christian Fellowship, Pastor Raymond “Ray” Turner of Temple Missionary Baptist Church, Stan “Amiri” Futch of Westside Action Group (WAG), Cheryl Brown of St. Paul AME Church Social Action Commission, Carolyn Tillman,a Community Historian and Activist, and Delores Armstead, City Planning Commissioner.
Their comments about Carrigan’s employment history in other cities were factual; he had been dismissed previously, and they believed the council could take more time to make a better decision. At that time, the community was unaware that the council’s top candidate was Black and had withdrawn from consideration.
According to Carrigan, on October 5th, after a Closed Session Council Meeting, Ms. Soren, the HR Director, told him there had been much discussion about him and his job prospects the previous night.
In my opinion, based on what I know so far, Fran Rojas, Suzie Soren, Mayor Tran, Councilmember Ted Sanchez, Sandra Ibarra, Juan Figueroa, Fred Shorett, under the guidance of Sonia Carvalho, City Attorney, are now attempting to blame the Black citizens of San Bernardino and the three Black Councilmembers for Carrigan not being hired as City Manager.
I will offer my opinion about racism at City Hall regarding Carrigan’s claim and discuss which Council members frequently interact with the Police Officers Association and are friends with the Assistant City Attorney after I conclude my investigation.