Ex-Garcetti Deputy Gets Promoted in Settlement

A Los Angeles deputy district attorney has been promoted to head deputy retroactively after settling her lawsuit against the previous administration--a case that became a rallying point for critics of former Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti.

Monika Blodgett, who was transferred to a nonsupervisory role after she complained to the news media about the handling of cases in the Torrance office, also agreed to a $480,000 settlement, which includes $45,000 in back pay.

The case was resolved in the waning days of Garcetti’s administration.

The bulk of the monetary settlement still must be approved by the Los Angeles County Claims Board and the Board of Supervisors within 90 days.

If the supervisors do not agree to pay Blodgett, the case will proceed to trial in March, although under the agreement Blodgett would keep her promotion and the $45,000 in back pay. The back pay dates to 1995, when Blodgett was passed over for a promotion.

“It’s been an exhausting battle,” she said. “It feels great that it appears to be settled. “

Blodgett’s case, in which she complained that her 1st Amendment rights were violated, was seen as an example of unfairness by some in the district attorney’s office who were critical of their former leader.

Blodgett complained that the Torrance office was in disarray and that political connections affected the way some cases were resolved.

“She tried to clean up the Torrance situation. There was an insular old-boy network that decided a lot of cases based on politics,” said her attorney, Meir Westreich.

Garcetti has denied playing political favorites. He also has said he did not retaliate against employees.

He lost his bid for reelection last month after a bitter campaign. He was replaced by Steve Cooley on Dec. 4.

Blodgett, who has been with the district attorney’s office since 1976, began her battle with Garcetti after she was passed over as chief deputy in the Torrance branch in 1993. She held the job on an interim basis before being turned down for the permanent job. She filed a grievance, initially complaining that she had been discriminated against.

Although the Civil Service Commission did not uphold Blodgett’s discrimination complaint, it did rule that her 1st Amendment rights were violated when she was transferred from an administrative job in Torrance to a nonsupervisory post in Santa Monica after she publicly criticized the office.