On Friday, the Antioch City Council unanimously voted to place city manager Con Johnson on administrative leave.
City Attorney Thomas Smith also announced that Forrest Ebbs, Community Development Director, would be acting city manager. This differs from the Tuesday action when it was announced that Human Resources Director Ana Cortez was acting city manager.
There was no other discussion or statements made during the meeting which only had 2 items on it:
- Public Employee Performance Evaluation and possible action: City Manager
- Public Employee Appointment – title acting city manager
On Wednesday, Thorpe issued the following statement after City Manager Con Johnson was placed on administrative leave:
At the Tuesday, March 14, 2023, City Council Meeting, the City Manager was placed on paid administrative leave. Vice Mayor Tamisha Torres-Walker and I were not present for the vote as my flight from Washington, DC was delayed for several hours.
I know my colleagues intended to proceed in the best interest of the City of Antioch and within their authority. However, while they may have believed their actions were correct, legally they were procedurally wrong.
In an effort to allow the Council to express its will, I’ll be calling a special meeting for Friday, March 17, 2023, at 10:00 am to correct this action and, if needed, potentially appoint an Acting City Manager.
To that end, I want to assure Antioch residents, city employees, and partners that the City remain.
Antioch City Manager Con Johnson
Since it is a personnel matter, the council did not reveal the reasoning behind the administrative leave or how long the leave would be. There is speculation it had to do with former PIO Rolando Bonilla issuing an statement erroneously quoting police chief Steve Ford. Bonilla later told the East Bay Times Johnson approved it the statement. The incident prompted Johnson to fire Bonilla from the city PIO position after the APOA issued a statement.
Back in October, Johnson was hired on a two-year contract at $266,400 per year in a 3-2 vote with Mayor Lamar Thorpe and councilmembers Monica Wilson and Tamisha Torres-Walker in support with Mayor Pro Tem Mike Barbanica and Councilmember Lori Ogorchock dissenting.
The vote came with no national search, application process or internal candidates considered. The council had met multiple times in closed session over the past few months on this appointment but took no action. There were also questions on Johnsons resume and his background check.
It’s former assistant city manager, Rosanna Bayon Moore, recently took a job in late February to become the city administrator for the city of Piedmont. Moore, who was hired to become the future city manager after then city manager Ron Bernal retired, was passed over for Johnson.
Under this current City Council, its now on its fourth city manager:
- Ron Bernal (retired)
- Con Johnson (acting/hired/admin leave)
- Ana Cortez (acting)
- Forrest Ebbs (acting)
City Manager Background:
- May 2017: City of Antioch Names Ron Bernal New City Manager
- Sept. 7, 2021: Antioch City Manager to Retire at End of 2021
- Nov 5, 2021: Antioch Set to Hire Former San Francisco Police Captain as Interim City Manager
- Nov. 10, 2021: Antioch City Council Agrees to Hire Cornelius Johnson as Interim City Manager in 3-2 Vote
- Dec. 16, 2021: Antioch Mayor Announces Hiring of Interim City Manager
- Sept. 10, 2022: Antioch Council Takes No Action on Hiring Con Johnson as City Manager
- Sept, 27, 2022: Antioch City Council Agrees to Appoint Con Johnson as City Manager
- Oct 26, 2022: Con Johnson Hired as Antioch City Manager After Split Council Vote
2 comments
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Thorpe’s press conference after this meeting was typically bizarre. Therein, he seems to blame his favorite bugaboo – an allegedly out-of-control and racist police department – for his buddy Con’s problems, yet he voted in the majority to relieve Con of duty. No acceptance of responsibility for the improper city manager hiring process or the wasting of taxpayer dollars for an unnecessary contracted “City PIO.” I have to wonder what mental world he lives in.
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