County Official Accuses Two Supes of Racist Remarks and Backroom Scheme

County executive Michael Vu, who was passed over for the county’s top unelected role, claims that County Supervisors Nora Vargas and Terra Lawson-Remer unlawfully stymied his pursuit of a promotion.

File photo of Michael Vu / Photo by Adriana Heldiz

by Lisa Halverstadt |Voice of San Diego | October 3, 2024

Longtime county official Michael Vu has filed a claim against the county alleging he was denied its top unelected post due to illegal moves by Supervisors Nora Vargas and Terra Lawson-Remer. 

He alleges that Vargas claimed he didn’t have the right racial background for the post and that Lawson-Remer sought to orchestrate the appointment of a Democratic strategist as his No. 2. 

Vu, who for years served as the county’s registrar of voters before being promoted to assistant chief administrative officer in 2021, filed a notice informing the county of his allegations this week.  

The claim follows a tumultuous months-long search for the county’s top bureaucrat and a demotion for Vu soon after the county’s new top bureaucrat took over this summer. His allegations also offer a window into the tension surrounding a process that drew significant backlash. 

The drama began in October 2022, when longtime Chief Administrative Officer Helen Robbins-Meyer announced plans to retire.  

Vu’s attorney Chip Edleson alleges in his filing that board Chair Nora Vargas told Robbins-Meyer in late 2022 or early 2023 that “we need a person of color” to serve as the new CAO when Robbins-Meyer said she’d agree to hold off on retiring for a year to prepare Vu to take over her post. That would have meant bypassing the public search that supervisors ultimately pursued. 

When Robbins-Meyer replied that Vu is Asian, Vargas allegedly said “that doesn’t count, they have opportunities and education. We need a Hispanic or Black.” 

“Helen Robbins-Meyer was flabbergasted, floored and upset by this statement,” Edleson wrote. 

Later, after Vargas became chair in 2023, Edleson wrote that Vargas again refused to support Vu when Robbins-Meyer again shared that her plan was for Vu to take over when she left the county. 

Edleson also alleged that Lawson-Remer and then-county official Paul Worlie, a veteran Democratic strategist who once led former Supervisor Nathan Fletcher’s office, approached both Vu and Robbins-Meyer with a proposal.  

She would support Vu for CAO if he agreed to make Worlie his No. 2, Edleson wrote. 

“Michael Vu refused to participate in this illegal backroom deal” that his attorney alleges violated the state’s open meetings law and the county charter. He wrote that Robbins-Meyer rejected it too. 

Edleson also wrote that Robbins-Meyer emailed County Counsel Claudia Silva the same day that Lawson-Remer proposed the arrangement, flagging the situation. 

The county and Edleson provided redacted versions of the claim to Voice of San Diego that omit the email. The county argues the email is protected by attorney-client privilege. 

Later, Edelson wrote, Lawson-Remer retaliated against Vu by “prevented him from receiving the position.” 

In separate statements, Vargas and Lawson-Remer dismissed Vu’s claims. Worlie declined to comment as did county spokesperson Michael Workman, who noted that the county doesn’t comment on pending litigation.  

Robbins-Meyer did not respond to a request for comment.

Vargas wrote in a statement that she denies making any statements “that promote or condone discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or national origin” and welcomes an investigation into the matter. 

“The allegations made against me are not only false but totally contradict my values and record of public service,” Vargas wrote. “I believe in the importance of creating a workplace that values and respects all individuals from all backgrounds.” 

Vu’s claim isn’t the first allegation of anti-Asian bias to hit Vargas’ office.  

In a suit filed late last year, Jeff Liu claimed that Vargas’ office offered him a job to serve as her policy director and then rescinded the offer – and that Vargas’ former chief of staff muttered anti-Asian slurs during a call with him. He also claimed Vargas was aware of the now-former staffer’s similar racist comments about him and others. 

The county has previously denied Liu’s claims. 

Lawson-Remer, who is in a heated battle to hold onto her board seat, separately pushed back on Vu’s claims that she proposed a “quid pro quo” and illegally retaliated against him. 

“This is not the first disgruntled employee who has filed a lawsuit when they did not get hired for a job,” Lawson-Remer wrote in a statement.  

She also wrote that she remains proud of her decisions to appoint longtime county executive Sarah Aghassi to serve as interim chief administrative officer in January and Ebony Shelton as the county’s permanent top bureaucrat in June. 

As Union-Tribune columnist Michael Smolens wrote last year, Vu – who as the registrar was one of the county’s most beloved public officials – was considered a top candidate for chief administrative officer when Robbins-Meyer made him her No. 2 in 2021. Indeed, Robbins-Meyer’s predecessor Walt Ekard previously groomed her to succeed him. 

Then came a Democratic board majority interested in a new direction. 

Yet like her predecessor, Robbins-Meyer was apparently eager to help Vu.  

After Robbins-Meyer announced plans to retire, Vu’s attorney wrote that she had agreed to stay on the job at the county “an additional year for the specific purpose of assisting Michael Vu in transitioning into the job of CAO” during the time of her alleged clash with Vargas. 

Things didn’t go as they planned. The county kickstarted a national search. Vu still wanted the promotion.   

Then scandal engulfed Fletcher, eventually leading to his resignation and a decision by Vargas and Lawson-Remer to pause the CAO search until his seat was filled. 

Days after Supervisor Monica Montgomery-Steppe took office, Robbins-Meyer announced she was retiring in January.  

Supervisors later appointed Aghassi, who had been a deputy chief administrative officer, as the interim CAO. She agreed not to seek the permanent job. 

As the county proceeded with its search for a permanent CAO, labor unions protested when they learned their top candidate wasn’t a finalist. 

In late May, Vargas revealed that the county had chosen its leading candidate after interviews with finalists. The board later voted unanimously to appoint Shelton, a longtime county official and its chief financial officer, to serve as the county’s top bureaucrat. 

Shelton, who is Black and Salvadoran, became chief administrative officer on June 14.  

Just over a month later, Shelton demoted Vu. He became a deputy CAO solely overseeing the elections office he once led, taking an $85,000 pay cut. 

Edleson wrote that Shelton told Vu he could remain in that role for up to 90 days “when his employment would end.” 

“In the near future, Michael Vu will lose all his compensation and benefits for an extended period while he searches for substantially similar replacement employment,” Edleson wrote. 

So Vu, who for now remains a county employee, has decided to challenge that demotion and the interactions he claims led up to it. He’s seeking damages of $5 million. 

The county has 45 days to investigate Vu’s claim and to decide whether to offer him a settlement or deny his claim, a move that would likely lead to a court battle. 

Source: Lisa is a senior investigative reporter who digs into some of San Diego's biggest challenges including homelessness, city real estate debacles, the region's behavioral health crisis and more. She welcomes story tips and questions. Contact her directly at lisa@vosd.org or (619) 325-0528. Follow her on Twitter @LisaHalverstadt.

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