Modesto spent $362K to resolve former city clerk’s lawsuit alleging retaliation, mistreatment
It cost Modesto nearly $362,000 to settle the lawsuit by its former longtime city clerk who had alleged top city officials retaliated against her for being a whistle-blower and that she had been subject to harassment, discrimination and the intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The city agreed to pay $175,000 to settle Stephanie Lopez’s lawsuit filed in March 2021 in Stanislaus County Superior Court. The city also incurred $189,090 in legal costs defending itself and $6,833 in other costs.
That brought Modesto’s total cost in this matter to $361,923. The city is responsible for the entire amount. Its insurance pays costs that exceed $1 million in any lawsuit or claim. The city pays amounts below that threshold.
The Bee learned about the settlement by filing a California Public Records Act request with the city for all payments it made in the first quarter of this year to resolve claims and lawsuits against it. Lopez’s lawsuit was dismissed last month in Superior Court.
“My client’s life has been dramatically improved since she put this case behind her,” said attorney Dustin Dyer with the Stockton-based Dyer Law Firm. “She can focus on her family and not have to worry about this litigation and what’s going to be said about her (by the city’s attorneys) in this case.”
Modesto denied all of Lopez’s allegations made against it and current and former city officials, according to the settlement.
Lopez had been city clerk since May 2008 and had worked for the city since March 2001 before resigning in August 2021. She had been perceived as an ally of Mayor Ted Brandvold, who was elected in a February 2016 runoff election but lost his re-election bid in the November 2020 election.
Bickering, divided City Council
Brandvold presided over a divided and at times dysfunctional City Council. He also did not always trust top city officials, including City Manager Joe Lopez, who is not related to Stephanie Lopez.
Mayor Sue Zwahlen now presides over a City Council that does not include anyone who served with Brandvold. The bickering and infighting that marked Brandvold’s tenure is gone.
Lopez has said she was seen as a whistle-blower and punished for bringing her concerns to Brandvold, including what she considered questionable spending by the city.
A 2019 investigation of Lopez’s allegations — including that she had been called a liar, excluded from meetings and subjected to crude sexual gestures by then Councilman Doug Ridenour — substantiated little but revealed political turmoil at the top levels of city government.
The investigation conducted by attorneys not connected with the city substantiated one allegation: Ridenour likely referred to Lopez and two other top female employees as the “Mayor’s Girls.” Lopez, who was 59 years old at the time, believed the comment was degrading and offensive, according to the investigation.
The 2019 investigation included a statement by Lopez that questioned the integrity of the investigation.
“... I strongly believe this investigation is politically motivated and is retaliation by the City Manager and (then) City Attorney who believe I am a ‘whistle-blower’ because I have raised concerns and shared information with Mayor Brandvold over questionable expenditures, overspending/extension of contracts, purchasing practices, costly legal services, etc,” according to her statement.
Modesto issued a statement with the release of the report from City Manager Lopez and then City Attorney Adam Lindgren. The two noted that the investigation did not substantiate the allegations against them and that they were focused on moving the city forward.
