Rehired city manager could receive $400,000

Duran: Talks underway to settle whistleblower suit filed after termination

Kelly Duran, rehired as Española’s city manager this week after a tumultuous tenure under a former mayor who orchestrated his termination two years ago, gave more details Thursday about the whistleblower lawsuit he filed against the municipality after his firing to shine a light on the political shenanigans that have long plagued City Hall.

The lawsuit, he said, was never about money, though he stands to collect more than $400,000 if the city settles.

“I was deeply torn on filing this lawsuit, and I had to reach down in my faith like I’ve never done before because the whistleblowers, we get a bad rap, and it takes a lot of courage, a lot of endurance and a lot of perseverance to endure having to file this type of lawsuit,” Duran said in a telephone interview, his voice cracking with emotion.

“But I couldn’t ignore it, and I felt it was my duty to do it,” he said. “If Española is ever going to improve, we have to take truth to what is before our eyes first before we can start solving the problems — and there is a lot of truthtelling that needs to take place.”

Duran, 40, who is scheduled to go

back to his old job Monday, making about $105,000 a year, said he and his attorneys have entered into good faith negotiations with the city “to settle this lawsuit in the most efficient and effective way possible.

“My attorneys have filed a demand letter,” he said.

While neither Duran nor his attorney, Joleen Youngers, would disclose the amount they requested to settle the lawsuit against the city and former Mayor Alice Lucero, Duran in his lawsuit requested “compensatory damages and damages allowed by the Whistleblower Protection Act,” which includes two times the amount of back pay.

“That is essentially lost income and benefits from the date of termination through the date of judgment or resolution, so basically what you look at there is what were they getting in pay and benefits and then that amount is doubled,” Youngers said.

Duran was getting paid about $110,000 a year and he’s been unemployed two years, so the amount totals close to $440,000.

Duran and Youngers declined to discuss specifics, saying it could jeopardize negotiations.

“Settlement negotiations are confidential, and it can end up impacting a case if settlement isn’t reached, so I don’t believe it’s appropriate for me to let you know any of the settlement amounts,” Youngers said.

Duran said he plans to donate a portion of his proceeds to civic organizations in the Española Valley, though he was unsure of the percentage.

“I’m not too sure because I don’t know what the settlement amount is,” he said.

Duran was rehired by recently elected Mayor Javier Sánchez. His appointment was ratified by the City Council on a 6-2 vote.

The two councilors who voted against the appointment, Robert Seeds and John Ramon Vigil, cited the ongoing litigation as their primary concern. Seeds unsuccessfully ran for mayor against Sánchez in the March election, and Vigil was part of Seeds’ slate.

Duran said there is no conflict of interest as claimed by Vigil. The complaint is being handled by the city’s insurance company, not anyone directly at city government, he said.

“Not even the city manager has input on this,” he said. “Not even the mayor has input on this.”

Duran said Sánchez didn’t offer him his old job back in exchange for settling the lawsuit.

“I uphold myself in the most amount of integrity possible, and Mayor Sánchez is the same type of person,” he said. “Very early on, we understood that the lawsuit is on one side of the coin and the city manager’s position is on the other side of the coin. Are they related? Of course, but they’re not mutually exclusive.”

Duran said he and Sánchez agreed to operate in good faith.

“That was without question because it was never about soaking, if you will, money out of the city because, indirectly, it’s depriving the city of funds that originate from the citizens, and that’s my chief concern,” he said.

Sánchez was out of town and unavailable for comment.

Duran said Sánchez asked him to submit a letter of interest and résumé if he was interested in the city manager position.

“At that point, I reached out to my attorneys, and I wanted my intention to be made clear that I wanted to settle this lawsuit in the most efficient way possible because I don’t want this lawsuit hanging over the head of this current administration,” he said. “This administration under the leadership of Mayor Sánchez and the leadership of other council members, a majority of council members, is a dynamic council that is destined to do great things, and I want to be part of that. And I also don’t want the citizens to be burdened with the mistakes of a former administration.”