AQMD Whistle-Blower Dismissed : Termination: Officials deny charges that woman was fired for revealing alleged espionage and for taking part in lawsuit.

An employee of the South Coast Air Quality Management District who charged that she was ordered to spy on local government officials was fired Thursday by the agency.

Julie Flores said she was told her dismissal was prompted by a series of incidents involving work habits, using the telephone for personal business, use of profanity on the job and lighting a cigar in the AQMD lobby.

Flores denied all the charges except the cigar incident and said her dismissal was prompted by her whistle-blowing on the spying and her participation in an affirmative action suit against the AQMD. “I am absolutely 100% certain that’s the reason why they retaliated against me,” Flores said.

AQMD spokesman Tom Eichhorn confirmed that Flores had been dismissed. “She is no longer with the district. . . . (Thursday) was her last day,” he said.

Eichhorn said he could not comment further because of the confidential nature of personnel proceedings. But he denied that the district’s action was retaliatory. “Any action taken with regard to Ms. Flores was based on appropriate procedures,” Eichhorn said.

Flores, 27, who joined the AQMD in June, 1991, told The Times previously that she was ordered to obtain political intelligence on candidates whom Orange County mayors intended to support in an upcoming election for the AQMD governing board.

The information was said to be of keen interest to AQMD executives because the incumbent board member, Yorba Linda Councilman Hank Wedaa, had supported the district’s clean-air initiatives. He was opposed by a candidate who was more critical of the district’s policies.

Flores said she wrote two memos, labeled “highly confidential,” on how some of the mayors planned to vote. The memos went to her immediate supervisor and to Eugene Calafato, a top aide to AQMD Executive Officer James M. Lents.

The district has denied the allegations and said Flores acted on her own.

Three federal agencies are investigating the job discrimination charges filed by Flores and other employees. Investigations have been launched by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission and the U.S. Department of Labor.