LOCAL : County OKs Parks Office Switch
The Los Angeles County Civil Service Commission tentatively agreed today to remove a top parks official and temporarily replace him with a department veteran illegally passed over for promotion.
The move was hailed by a county union official as a victory against cronyism in government.
Without discussion, the commission voted 4 to 0 to accept a recommendation by hearing officer Leonard Kimmell that William De La Garza be appointed acting regional director of the Department of Parks and Recreation’s East Region until the department makes an appointment from a certified, eligible list.
The tentative decision calls for Henry Roman, who currently holds the Eastern Region director’s post, to be removed from that job within a month. The decision does not go into effect for at least 10 days, allowing time for an appeal.
The Los Angeles County Chicano Employees Assn. represented De La Garza in his claim that the department discriminated against him because he is Latino and retaliated against him because he had filed claims on three earlier occasions.
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