Los Alamitos council to consider censure after investigation into councilmember's conduct; privilege waived

The Los Alamitos City Council is scheduled to consider a formal censure of Councilmember Murphy after the council received an investigative report and voted to make it public. The city attorney reported that the council met in closed session to review a probe into an allegation that Murphy attempted to obtain financial information from TNT Fireworks related to a Los Alamitos Community Foundation fundraiser.

According to the city attorney, "The city council met in closed session this evening to receive an investigation report concerning the claim that council member Murphy abused her authority as a council member by attempting to obtain financial information from TNT Fireworks regarding a Los Alamitos Community Foundation fundraiser." The report cited in the report was prepared on Dec. 10, 2024, by Karen Kramer, Esquire, of Kramer Workplace Investigations, as stated by the city attorney.

After discussing the report, the city attorney said the council "voted 3 to 0 ... waiving the attorney client privilege attached to the 12/10/2024 investigation report prepared by Karen Kramer, Esquire of Kramer Workplace Investigations and ... to direct staff to set a special meeting on Monday, December 16 at 05:30PM to consider a formal censure of Councilmember Murphy." The transcript records the three votes in favor as coming from the mayor (surname rendered in the transcript inconsistently as "Nafolda" and "Nifolda"), Mayor Pro Tem Hasselbrink and Councilmember Dobie.

The city attorney presented the vote and the actions as the formal outcomes of the closed session; the transcript does not include statements from Councilmember Murphy or other councilmembers in response to the allegation during the recorded exchange. The council directed staff to schedule the special meeting for Dec. 16 at 5:30 p.m. to consider formal censure; the transcript records the meeting adjourning at 5:54 p.m.

The investigative report and the council's vote to waive attorney-client privilege mean the report will be available to the public ahead of the special meeting, according to the city attorney's report-out. The transcript does not record any additional evidence or testimony for or against the allegation in open session; it records only the city attorney's summary and the council's procedural vote.

The special meeting to consider censure was set by council direction and will be the next procedural opportunity for councilmembers, the accused councilmember and the public to address the contents of the investigation formally.