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Cudahy City Manager Fired By City Council "For Cause"
(via City of Cudahy)
Voting 4 to 0 in a short, closed session meeting Monday night, Cudahy City Council fired George Perez, the controversial City Manager for over a decade. City Atty. David Olivas was also dismissed. A councilman noted that members feared standing up to Perez, and the LA Times reports that the move was "a rare show of independence" by city council. Cudahy Mayor Josue Barrios said Perez was fired "for cause," but did not give specifics. Notes the LA Times, Perez's came to power during "the mid-1990s transition of the southeast county cities from white-majority city councils to ones that area predominantly Latino. He was appointed city manager while on the council, even though he had no education or background in public administration."
In 2001, Perez, who was raised in Cudahy, was the target of an investigation by the Public Integrity Division of the Los Angeles County district attorney's office into the process through which he was hired as city manager. The probe lasted two years and involved the search of both City Hall and Perez's Cudahy home.
Perez was never charged with any wrongdoing and the investigation was dropped due to a lack of evidence.
Following the Bell scandal and legislation considering a disincorporation of Vernon, this "vote marks the latest political upheaval in the small communities that dot southeast L.A. County," notes the LA Times.
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