By Jeff McDonald / SD Union-Tribune / June 21, 2025
Earlier this year, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria fired Chief Operating Officer Eric Dargan and personally assumed those day-to-day city responsibilities.
At the time, Gloria was confronting a $258 million budget deficit and said the restructuring would slash the bureaucracy and better position San Diego going forward. He also promised more changes to come.
Dargan did not see his firing that way. The next month, he filed a lawsuit accusing Gloria and the city of racial discrimination and of targeting him because he is Black.
In his lawsuit, Dargan said the mayor and the city had failed to provide three months’ notice of its plans to part ways and — perhaps most important — the three months’ severance called for in his contract.
City officials rejected the allegations, saying he had been fired for cause, and pledged to fight.
But on Tuesday, the City Council is scheduled to consider a $146,000 settlement with Dargan — more than it would have cost to honor the severance agreement.
“The settlement is a business decision and the result of a compromise and dismissal of the litigation proceedings and is not an admission of liability by any party,” the staff report to council members says.
“City and its representatives specifically disclaim any liability or responsibility to plaintiff,” it adds.
Dargan could not be reached for comment Friday. Attorney Michael Conger, who represented the former chief operating officer in the litigation, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Dargan, who moved from Texas to accept the role as top San Diego administrator, was much heralded by Gloria when he arrived in 2022.
He was paid $380,000 in 2023, according to the most recent information in Transparent California, the nonprofit database of public salaries and pensions. At that pay rate, three months’ severance would have been about $95,000.
In his lawsuit, Dargan said the mayor had fired him without cause.
“The city, namely Mayor Gloria, unlawfully discriminated against Dargan based on his race by, among other things, lying to him regarding the three months severance,” the legal complaint said.
While city officials generally decline to comment on pending litigation, the mayor’s chief of staff previously issued a public statement rejecting the allegations.
“While eliminating the COO position provides budgetary savings, Mr. Dargan was, in fact, terminated for cause,” Paola Avila said at the time. “This will be made clear in the city’s response to Mr. Dargan’s complaint.”
If approved by the City Council, the $146,000 payment from the city to Dargan would end the legal dispute.
Maybe he can move to TJ and solve raw sewage outflow into the Pacific Ocean that causes the Navy Seals to become sick,
Interesting. There was a Mexican man, Jorge Riveros, who Gloria boasted did wonderous things when he was the Dept. head of, Transportation in Texas. He moved his family to SD when he was hired by Gloria as the new Transportation Director for the City of SD. In a short time after the announcement of Riveros hiring, the single traffic lane in Mira Mesa happened overnight, and Riveros was on the news the next morning, saying it was a Transportation Dept. “mistake”, and would be corrected. At the time I thought, your days are numbered, you are on TV saying the City made a mistake, before Gloria has the photo op. 2-3 days later Gloria was on the news saying the “mistake”‘ was the City didn’t notify the residents in advance. HA! Nice twist on the actuality Gloria. About a month later, I called City Information and asked for the email address of Jorge Riveros, Director of Transportation. The Clerk said we don’t have that name on the City employee Roster. So he quietly got fired, I assume, if he’s no longer on the Roster. Again the Voter’s voted to NOT have a City Manager style of Government, they voted to have a strong mayor form of government. In that capacity, the Mayor can hire and fire any city employee he wants to without cause, except those in specific Unions, like Police Officer, Firefighters, and other specific unions within the City. Several layers of City managers have been pulled out of the Municipal Employees Association, since Gloria has been mayor, and they “work at the will of the mayor”. My guess is Dargen didn’t do what the mayor wanted him to do, and he got fired. That’s two top management people of color that got the short end of the stick when they moved to SD with this mayor.