Los Alamitos council adopts censure resolution against Councilmember Tricia Murphy after investigator finds she used council role to seek records

On Dec. 16, 2024, the Los Alamitos City Council voted to adopt a resolution publicly censuring Councilmember Tricia Murphy after an outside investigator concluded Murphy used her council position to seek records she was not entitled to, city counsel said.

Outside counsel Shailene Bennett, a managing partner at the law firm Liebert Cassidy Whitmore who has been assisting the city, told the council the matter began in April and stems from letters by TNT Fireworks and the Los Alamitos Community Foundation. Bennett said the foundation’s letter complained about a phone call from Murphy to TNT area manager Rich Legaspi and that the foundation threatened legal action. The city retained outside neutral investigator Karen Kramer in July to examine the matter.

Bennett summarized the investigator’s findings, saying Legaspi told the investigator that Murphy called in early 2024 asking about payments to the foundation and that he directed her to request records from the foundation. "The investigator found it more likely than not that Councilmember Murphy used her position as a council member to obtain records that she was not otherwise entitled to receive," Bennett said. Bennett also said the investigator described concerns about the foundation’s money management and deemed some of Murphy’s entitlement arguments "nonsensical."

During the public comment period, multiple residents urged the council not to censure Murphy and instead to pursue a neutral audit of the financial records. Carol Churchill told the council the resolution appeared "based on retaliation, not facts" and pointed to what she called inconsistencies in the resolution’s wording. Shawna Trud, speaking for several residents, said Murphy had "demonstrated the highest levels of integrity" and called the censure a "petty last-minute attack." Melinda (last name not provided), a Los Alamitos resident since 2018, urged an outside third-party audit so the public could see whether financial records were in order.

A council member noted that the city clerk had received an email from Councilmember Murphy at 4:28 p.m. on the day of the meeting containing a Dropbox link with additional documents. The City Manager said the roughly 90 pages were submitted after the 3:00 p.m. deadline but would be made part of the public record.

Bennett urged the council to adopt the resolution, saying failing to follow the outside investigator’s work could expose the city to legal liability. "If your city council did not follow through with the investigation ... you would have exposed your city to potentially significant legal liability," she said.

After a motion and a second (not specified in the meeting record), the council took a voice vote. Two members responded "aye" and one member responded "no"; the mayor stated the item passed by a majority and the resolution was adopted. The special meeting was then adjourned.

The council did not specify further procedural steps on the record beyond adopting the resolution; the additional documents submitted by Councilmember Murphy were noted to be in the record and available to the public.