Now up for Re-Election, Councilmember Faces Past Firing from City He Now Helps Lead

This post has been updated.

San Diego City Councilmember Henry Foster could not have had a more eventful first year in office than he has had since voters chose him in a special election in 2024. It ended this summer with a remarkable battle between Foster, who became head of the Council’s Budget Committee, and Mayor Todd Gloria who bitterly fought Foster and his Council colleagues over cuts they wanted to make to the mayor’s top management team. 

It was not the first time Foster had conflicts with city leaders. He just launched his campaign for re-election and now one of his former bosses and former colleagues are speaking out about his previous job at the city, and why the city fired him. 

A personnel document obtained by Voice of San Diego through a public records request shows city leaders fired Foster from his role as Equal Opportunity Contracting Program manager in 2016 and recommended he not be rehired.  

The document does not include a reason.  

The city hired Foster in 2010. He was responsible for ensuring city contractors met equal opportunity requirements or recommendations. Kristina Peralta was his direct supervisor at the time. She’s now a deputy chief operating officer for Mayor Gloria. 

As the City Council considered different actions to address the city’s budget deficit, Councilmember Foster pushed to eliminate two of the mayor’s deputy chief operating officers. During the final budget action, Foster recommended reductions resulting in over $800,000 in savings.  

“Even today with what action we are going to take, this budget is not perfect, but it is progress, and I’m committed to keep working and do what’s right for San Diego and our neighborhoods,” said Councilmember Foster during the budget debate in early June.  

Following a tense back and forth including a mayoral veto, the Council managed to get this line item in the cuts. But then, the mayor decided not to eliminate these positions. The Council has expressed frustration at the lack of cuts, but the mayor’s office has held its ground.  

A spokesperson for Mayor Gloria said they do not comment on personnel matters. 

Foster did not respond to a request for comment, but he addressed his termination at a public forum in Paradise Hills during his special election campaign in 2024. In a video obtained by Voice, he confirmed that former Mayor Kevin Faulconer fired him.  

“I was pulled into a room and was told that my services were no longer needed,” he says in the video.  

Foster explained that the administration had decided to go in a different route, “which is not uncommon as the position I was in was an unclassified position. So, I did not have the protections of the unions.”  

He said that as equal opportunity contracting manager, he had the authority to withhold contracts that did not meet certain standards regarding nondiscrimination.  

“It is important to me that businesses of color have an opportunity to thrive and achieve… and I took that job very seriously,” he said. “To the point when I was directed to sign off on contracts that did not meet those standards, I made sure that I told my supervisors.” 

Ron Villa, a former assistant chief operating officer who retired in 2020, said projects often got stuck with Foster and he had a difficult time working with others.  

“He didn’t fit in the organization. We were looking for solutions to problems and Henry kind of never brought anything to the table,” said Villa. He also said Foster’s first response to contracts was often no.  

“I was constantly getting calls from other departments,” said Villa, “We’re stuck in EOCP (Equal Opportunity Contracting Program), what do we need to do?” 

The office, by its very design, holds up projects to review them. The role meant that Foster could and would withhold contracts that did not mean equity standards set by the city.  

On Aug. 29, 2016, Foster was fired.  

Villa could not recall a specific incident that led city officials to decide to proceed with termination. 

On Oct. 5, 2016, the city’s Citizens Equal Opportunity Commission discussed Foster’s firing from the city.  

In an audio recording of the meeting, several commissioners voiced their frustration. Claudia Abarca, interim program manager at the time, told them the separation was a personnel matter that they could not disclose. 

Susan Jester and Cynthia Suero-Gabler both served as commissioners when Foster served as the program manager. 

“It was an administrative relationship,” Jester said in an interview with Voice about working with Foster. “I don’t ever recall him not doing his job.” 

Suero-Gabler also spoke to Foster’s work ethic at the time. She told Voice he was professional and pleasant to work with. Both Jester and Suero-Gabler said the reason Foster was fired was not shared with them. 

“I do recall the commission being very concerned about what happened to Henry because we really enjoyed working with him and appreciated his support over the years,” said Suero-Gabler.  

“For him to just be gone so quickly, that was concerning. Especially since we’re a commission for equal opportunity,” she added.  

Foster then went on to work at his own construction company for two years. He made his way back to the city in 2018, working as former Councilmember Monica Montgomery Steppe’s chief of staff.  

Latrell Crenshaw worked with Foster at the city in the Economic Development Department from 2021 to 2024, and then at the County of San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce in 2024. During his time in the economic development department, Crenshaw was working on the Diamond Business Improvement District in Council District 4. Crenshaw is running Mathew Gordon’s 2026 campaign against Foster. He told Voice he was speaking on behalf of himself not the groups he has worked with in the past or present.

Crenshaw said Foster, then Montgomery Steppe’s chief of staff, was reluctant to collaborate and hindered progress in getting the small businesses in the improvement district off the ground.  

“No emotion, no engagement, no questions, no report,” Crenshaw said. “It’s a very different interaction than I’m used to with all of the other council offices.” 

Fast forward to 2024, Crenshaw went to work at the Black Chamber of Commerce, and Foster won the District 4 seat. Crenshaw supported Foster’s opponent, Chida Warren-Darby. 

Because of his participation in the campaign, Crenshaw said whenever he proposed an initiative within the Black Chamber of Commerce, Foster would stonewall or shut down ideas.  As a councilmember, Crenshaw said Foster has played a significant role in advocating for funding and contracts to be awarded and maintained by the organization.  

“Part of the reason I left the organization is because we just couldn’t make any progress, Henry wanted to be in charge of everything,” said Crenshaw. 

Lisa Halverstadt contributed reporting. 

Oct. 3 update: This story has been updated to include that Latrell Crenshaw is Mathew Gordon’s campaign manager. Gordon is running against Henry Foster in 2026.

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