The Orange County Register reported yesterday that Yorba Linda City Manager Tamara S. Letourneau, née Tamra Gates, was removed in a closed session of the Yorba Linda City Council. The Register article said:
Letourneau's contract allows for her removal without cause, Winder said. She will receive a $209,592 severance package.Letourneau was Glenn Southard's Assistant City Manager before moving onto Sierra Madre for four years. She was hired by Yorba Linda in 2004. Letourneau just received a $22,000 raise last November, so the removal was something of a surprise to casual Yorba Linda observers.
"Our goal is to have a new staff and go in a new direction," he said.
In making the announcement during the council meeting, Winder gave no reason for Letourneau's removal, but her salary has been an issue with residents in the city. The decision was unanimous among the council members.
Letourneau had previously been the subject of criticism in 2006 when a person named Jim Drummond claimed that Letourneau had spoken to a developer about the developer's ability to fight a Yorba Linda slow-growth referendum. The developers tactics reportedly included the hiring of "blockers" to interfere with petition signature gatherers hired by the slow-growth group.
There was no word on whether or not Yorba Linda is satisfied with its city attorney's services. (Yorba Linda's city attorney is our own Sonia Carvalho of Best, Best & Krieger.)
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