David Cavazos Placed on Administrative Leave During Investigation

SANTA ANA, CA — The highest paid City Manager in Santa Ana history was placed on paid administrative leave this week by Santa Ana City Council.

City Manager David Cavazos was on paid administrative leave Thursday following a vote by four of the City Council's members at a special meeting. City Attorney Sonia Carvalho said the vote came "as the council continues to review and investigate current and former issues arising from his personal performance evaluations, including but not limited to the impacts of personal workplace relationships and the development of a romantic relationship policy."

The four members -- Mayor Miguel Pulido, Juan Villegas, Jose Solorio and Michele Martinez -- voted 4-0 Wednesday to place Cavazos on leave. Three council members who support the city manager were traveling, according to reports from City Council.

Like his supporters, Cavazos was not present at the meeting, which was called by the mayor.

"All I can say is, I didn't have a chance to be at the meeting and I’m committed to Santa Ana,” Cavazos told The Orange County Register in a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon. And I’m very grateful for all the people who spoke on my behalf and we made tremendous progress in the last three years."

Cavazos is Santa Ana’s highest-paid city manager ever, with an annual salary of $372,165 plus an additional $107,450 in medical, dental and retirement benefits, the Register reported.

During public comment before the vote, all but one of the 15 speakers praised Cavazos for bringing the city, which had been on the brink of bankruptcy, to a surplus.

While Cavazos has been credited with steering the city toward economic prosperity, his tenure has been contentious.

A private investigation initiated by Pulido and Martinez in June revealed that the city manager failed to disclose a romantic relationship with a subordinate city employee until a year after the fact, and that his complaint of sexual harassment by Martinez was without merit.

Photo, city of Santa Ana