Laguna Beach City Manager Shohreh Dupuis will leave her post Sept. 1 as part of her settlement agreement with the city after expressing her concerns over being exposed to harassment and a hostile workplace.
In the nine-page agreement, Dupuis, who took her job with the city in May 2021 after previously serving as assistant city manager to John Pietig, alleges that a Laguna Beach council member’s conduct has caused problems since February.
At that time, Dupuis was accused of a lack of transparency by City Councilmember George Weiss and other community members after a traffic stop in which Dupuis used a hand-held cell phone resulted in releasing a video from a police officer’s body-cam. Dupuis’ house in South Laguna was also vandalized, with the police department and private citizens offering a reward for information leading to the suspect. As of now, no one has been linked to the vandalism in which feces was smeared on her house and property, officials said.
On Thursday, Aug. 24, after a closed session Laguna Beach City Council meeting – which follows four other such meetings over the past months discussing “significant exposure to litigation” connected to a “complaint alleging the conduct of Councilmember George Weiss’ continuing harassment and (creation) of a hostile work environment” – city officials announced that Dupuis and the city came to the agreement that she would retire Sept. 1.
Following the meeting, Mayor Bob Whalen signed the separation agreement that outlines the parameters under which Dupuis retires. Dupuis signed the agreement Aug. 14. The agreement is the result of a unanimous vote by Whalen and councilmembers Sue Kempf, Mark Orgill and Alex Rounaghi.
In reporting the agreement, City Attorney Phil Kohn wrote that a city press release announcing her retirement would follow the unanimous agreement regarding Dupuis’ retirement. Her position will be filled by Assistant City Manager Gavin Curran, who will serve in an acting…
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