City Treasurer Says He Will Resign, Faults Riordan

J. Paul Brownridge said Thursday he will resign as Los Angeles city treasurer, four weeks after his salary was cut following a job evaluation that faulted him for lack of leadership and vision.

Brownridge, one of the last of former Mayor Tom Bradley’s managers, alleged in turn that a lack of direction and leadership by Mayor Richard Riordan has made it difficult for managers in the city. He also called his departure and that of several other top African American managers “disturbing.”

He blamed the mayor’s staff for the high turnover of top city department managers.

“I will suggest to you that many of them have done various things to various people, that have made it very uncomfortable. . . . I find that very, very unacceptable, in light of my contribution to the city,” Brownridge said.

Kelly Martin, the mayor’s chief of staff, denied that the mayor’s office has put unreasonable pressure on managers.

City Councilwoman Rita Walters called Brownridge a “talented manager” and said the mayor’s staff has mistreated and pressured former Bradley managers, many of whom were African American. But she also alleged that white managers have suffered under Riordan.

“I’m very concerned,” Walters said. “There’s been a large turnover.”

Of the 39 top managers who have left their posts since Riordan took office, 19 are either female or minorities.

“Before Bradley left office there were nine or 10 of us,” said Brownridge of African American department heads. “There are four or five now. When I leave there will be one less.

“I don’t know what it is,” he said, but added: “It’s not coincidence. It’s a little bit disturbing.

“I don’t look at Mayor Riordan . . . deliberately doing any of this. But I say he’s the captain of the team,” Brownridge said.

The attrition rate among black managers does not concern Joe Hicks, an African American who was appointed during Riordan’s tenure as executive director of the city’s Human Relations Commission.

“I do not buy into the long-standing rumblings that there is a conspiracy against African American general managers in this city,” Hicks said.

Similarly, civil rights attorney Constance Rice, who served under both Bradley and Riordan, said she has seen no evidence that African American managers are being singled out. Like Walters, she said their attrition rate has more to do with Riordan’s office replacing managers from the previous administration with its own players. “He believes in having his team on the field,” Rice said.

Brownridge, 53, said Riordan and the mayor’s staff have not provided sufficient leadership and vision, creating an atmosphere in which it is difficult to manage.

“We haven’t had a meeting of all the top managers in two years. That’s just unacceptable,” Brownridge said. “Mayor Bradley did that several times a year.”

Brownridge alleged further that Riordan is ill-served by a weak staff. Similar criticism was voiced recently by City Administrative Officer Keith Comrie when he announced plans to resign.

As for the complaint about the managers not meeting, Martin said, “The mayor is in regular and frequent contact with the general managers.”

She said the criticism from Brownridge and Comrie is not surprising.

“Both men came to the mayor’s office and asked for a buyout and the mayor said ‘no,’ ” Martin said.

Brownridge also said the process by which he was negatively evaluated was flawed and unfair, and he threatened to sue the city. The same approach was taken by former Police Chief Willie L. Williams, who ended up with a $375,000 buyout.

Brownridge said he plans to leave his post in the “foreseeable future,” possibly in a few weeks, though he may wait until the new budget is finished in June. The timing depends, in part, on talks he has initiated with Riordan about restoring his pay and providing a possible severance package, including a consulting contract, he said.

“We’re not going to enter into an arrangement with Mr. Brownridge,” Martin said. “He is welcome to stay and do his job or resign. That’s his choice.”

Brownridge’s pay was reduced by 1% to $119,451, which also made him ineligible for a 2% cost-of-living increase received by most city employees Jan. 1. Combined, the pay cut and loss of the increase will cost him about $3,600 annually.

The pay cut was approved by the city’s Executive Employee Relations Committee, which is made up of Riordan and four City Council members. That group of top city officials last year approved the recommendation of a job evaluation panel consisting of Councilman Mike Feuer and former Deputy Mayor Chris O’Donnell that gave Brownridge a rating of 4 on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the best and 5 the worst.

A 4 rating means the manager “meets some goals and expectations.” But the detailed evaluation, a copy of which was obtained by The Times, read in part: “The treasurer has a problem with communications skills and has demonstrated a lack of creativity, leadership and vision.”