Two Los Angeles City Department Heads Fired in Unexpected Shakeup
Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia abruptly terminated teh general managers of the Department of โAging and the Department of economic and Workforce โAdvancement thisโ week,โ sparking questions about the future of both agencies and a potential restructuring of city services. The firings, confirmed byโข Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, occurred without prior notification to key members of โthe City Council.
the dismissals come amid ongoing debate over the efficiency of the twoโ departments, with someโ city officials suggesting they could be streamlined under โฃa single entity. The move raises concerns about potential disruption to critical city programs, especially as Losโ Angeles โprepares to host the 2028 Olympic Games, a period โofficials โsay requires increased investment in workforce development and support for seniors.
According toโ Rodriguez, she learned of โthe terminations from sources outside of city โคgovernment, not from the Mayor’s office โor Controller Mejia directly. “I was not informed about โขthis action that was proposed, or even after it took place,” Rodriguezโค told LAist. “I was informed by external city partners, not by anyone in the โคcity.”
Theโ Department of Aging confirmed that its former general manager,Laura Pacheco-Orozco,has been placed on administrative leave. The Department of Economic and Workforce Development has not yet responded to requestsโ for comment.
The City Council retains the authority to approve any formal consolidation of the departments. โRodriguez cautioned against hasty decisions, statingโข the city needs “to take a closer look at whether โconsolidating the departments actually would make things better.” She expressed โconcern that the unexpected leadership changes represent a loss of institutional knowledge at a crucial time, emphasizing the needโ to “ramp up support for business and workforce development for the Olympics.”
The Mayor’s office has โคnotโ yet issued a statement regarding theโ firings. โ
Anyone with โinformationโ related to this story canโข reach journalist joel Rynning via Signal at โขjrynning.56.
