Lawson-Remer: Quid Pro Quo Allegations Are ‘Absurd and False’

This post first appeared in the Morning Report.

County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer is pushing back against the notion that she attempted a quid pro quo alleged in a lawsuit filed by a former county executive.

Michael Vu, who had sought to become the county’s top bureaucrat, alleged in a lawsuit that Lawson-Remer and ex-supervisor Nora Vargas unlawfully blocked his quest for that promotion. His suit claims that Lawson-Remer’s actions, detailed in an email to the county’s now ex-top lawyer, violated the state’s open meetings law. 

Those allegations – and Voice of San Diego’s scoop on the large payout that county counsel will receive after abruptly retiring late last month – prompted Republican Supervisor Jim Desmond to request a federal investigation earlier this week.

In a statement sent to the Union-Tribune, Lawson-Remer deemed the allegations she violated state law “absurd and false.”

“Nothing more than sour grapes from an old guard of bureaucrats resistant to the new direction voters chose for San Diego County,” Lawson-Remer told the U-T.

Vu’s attorney told Voice last week that he had let the county know he wanted to depose ex-county counsel Claudia Silva first to learn more about the blockbuster 2023 email. Soon after that request, Democratic county supervisors including Lawson-Remer called a hastily-scheduled closed session to discuss Silva’s performance. The county announced her retirement hours later.

A county spokesperson told the U-T that Silva didn’t get involved in defending the Vu case and that the county instead hired outside law firms, adding up to about $258,00 in legal bills thus far – a sum that doesn’t include the tab for a separate firm representing Lawson-Remer.

The post Lawson-Remer: Quid Pro Quo Allegations Are ‘Absurd and False’ appeared first on Voice of San Diego.