A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department secretary can move forward for now with her civil rights suit in which she alleges then-Sheriff Alex Villanueva blocked her chance for promotion because she supported a rival candidate in the June 2022 primary election.
During a hearing Friday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Randolph M. Hammock denied a motion by lawyers for the county and Villanueva to dismiss plaintiff Cynthia Gallegos’ amended lawsuit. Filed June 1, the revised complaint alleges only one cause of action for civil rights violations. Her original suit filed in October 2022 alleged a second civil rights claim that her attorneys subsequently dropped.
In their court papers, defense attorneys maintained that instead of making clear what specific policies violated Gallegos’ civil rights, her updated complaint “vaguely references that the LASD is notorious for corruption” and vaguely alleges LASD management began retaliating against employees who spoke out during the tenure of former Sheriff Lee Baca, who served from 1998-2014.
A sheriff’s department employee of more than 22 years, Gallegos in October 2021 was named acting senior secretary 5 in the department’s Technology and Support Division, where her supervisor was Eli Vera, who finished seventh in the June 2022 primary. Villanueva was defeated in his bid for a second term in the Nov. 8 general election against retired Long Beach Police Department Chief Robert Luna.
Vera maintains he was demoted from chief to commander by Villanueva in retaliation for making a run for sheriff. In her suit, Gallegos alleges she paid the price for backing Vera when she was wrongfully denied the full senior secretary 5 position despite having the highest score among applicants.
“If not for Villanueva’s retaliation, (Gallegos) would have been hired in the position,” the suit states.
After allegedly blocking Gallegos’ promotion, Villanueva filled the position with a candidate who was a friend of the sheriff’s largest fundraiser, according to the suit.
“The person hired has caused chaos and discord in the office and refuses to learn the job,” according to the suit, which further states that the chosen candidate “had a reputation for similar antics and lack of competence in her other prior assignments.”
Gallegos has suffered extreme emotional distress and severe insomnia because she believes she was wrongfully denied the promotion, her complaint alleges.