City Agrees to Rehire Official to Settle Suit

City Council members have agreed to rehire former Utilities Director Ben Wong to settle the wrongful-termination and racial discrimination lawsuit he brought against the city in federal court.

Under the settlement agreement, Wong, fired in August 1995, is to receive $218,000 for back pay and benefits, Wong’s attorney, Richard Weinstock, said Tuesday. In addition, Wong is to be rehired to oversee various utilities matters at his previous pay of $117,000 per year in salary and benefits, Weinstock said. The new contract runs through September.

Wong said that he looks forward to returning to Oxnard City Hall, where he worked for 20 years.

“I’m happy it’s all behind us now,” said Wong, 58. “I’ve been happy in Oxnard for over 20 years, except what happened in ’94 and ‘95,” Wong said. “I felt I was forced out of the city . . . without due process.”

City officials contended that Wong was dismissed as part of an administrative downsizing.

But Wong charged in a lawsuit that he was unjustifiably fired and that he was discriminated against when he applied for other public services positions. Wong is of Chinese descent and was raised in the Philippines.

Wong said his new position of water resources manager will have broader duties than the title indicates and he will be involved in traffic and other public works decisions.

City Councilman John Zaragoza said he joined Councilmen Manuel Lopez and Bedford Pinkard to bring Wong back, but Councilmen Tom Holden and Dean Maulhardt were opposed to the rehiring.