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Los Alamitos Council Adopts Censure Resolution After Outside Investigator Finds Councilmember Used Position to Seek Confidential Records
Summary
The Los Alamitos City Council on Dec. 16 adopted a resolution censuring Councilmember Tricia Murphy after an outside investigator, as summarized by city counsel, concluded it was "more likely than not" Murphy used her council title to request confidential financial records; public commenters called the move retaliatory and asked for an independent audit.
The Los Alamitos City Council voted Dec. 16 to adopt a resolution censuring Councilmember Tricia Murphy after the city's outside counsel summarized an investigator's report that concluded it was "more likely than not" Murphy used her status as a councilmember when seeking confidential financial records from a vendor and a community foundation.
The council's outside counsel, an attorney with Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, told the council the matter began with a letter from TNT Fireworks to the Los Alamitos Community Foundation and a subsequent letter from the foundation to the council that threatened legal action. The city retained investigator Karen Kramer in July; counsel said Kramer completed her inquiry in December and found that TNT area manager Rich Legaspi was a credible witness.
Counsel summarized the investigator's key findings, saying the investigator concluded Murphy identified herself as a councilmember during a call to Legaspi and that "it was more likely than not that council member Murphy used her position as a council member to get information she wasn't entitled to receive," creating an inference of impropriety about the foundation's finances. Counsel told the council that, without completing the outside investigation, "you would have exposed your city to potentially significant legal liability," and that adopting the resolution distances the city from the investigator's findings.
Members of the public who spoke at the meeting disputed that characterization. Carol Churchill said the proposed resolution was "based on retaliation not facts," and read portions of the materials in the packet that she said showed inconsistencies. Shauna Truett, speaking on behalf of several residents, praised Murphy's "integrity, honesty, transparency" and urged the council to reconsider the censure. A resident identified only as Melinda urged an independent third-party audit of the financial records, saying such a review would resolve questions for the public.
The city manager told the council that Councilmember Murphy had submitted a Dropbox link at 4:28 p.m. the day of the meeting containing roughly 90 pages of additional documents that arrived after the 3:00 p.m. deadline; staff said those documents will be made public and included in the record of tonight's proceedings.
After counsel's presentation the council moved the item, a second was recorded, and the mayor called for a voice vote. The transcript records two —Aye' responses and one —No,' and the mayor announced the item passed "with majority of counsel." The council adjourned the special meeting following the vote.
The packet and the investigator's report cited the city's code of conduct, governance protocols and ethics provisions as the bases for sections of the proposed resolution. The report and the additional documents submitted by Murphy will remain part of the public record for this matter.
