Adithya Sambamurthy/The Bay Citizen

Ann Marie Gallant, Alameda's interim city manager, at a special meeting of the City Council on Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Interim City Manager Ann Marie Gallant has filed a damage claim against the city of Alameda in the wake of the City Council’s Dec. 28 decision not to renew her contract and to place her on paid administrative leave.

In a letter attached to the claim Gallant submitted to the city Thursday, she said she was terminated because she authorized a leaks investigation into City Council member Lena Tam. Gallant is seeking lost wages, emotional distress damages and attorney's fees and costs in an unspecified amount in excess of $25,000.

Gallant says the council’s 3-2 decision not to renew her contract violated the city’s charter, which prohibits the council from terminating any of its charter officers within 90 days of a new council member being seated. Rob Bonta joined the council as vice mayor Dec. 21.

Gallant is also claiming the nonrenewal of her contract came in retaliation for her authorizing the investigation into Tam. State law prohibits employers from firing employees for whistleblowing or for refusing to participate in illegal activity.

City officials said they were reviewing Gallant’s claim but made no further comment.

An attorney hired by Gallant to investigate Tam claimed the councilwoman had illegally leaked confidential information to SunCal, which was then the master developer for Alameda Point, Alameda’s firefighters union and local bloggers and a reporter, and that Tam had conducted private meetings with council members via e-mail in violation of the state’s open meetings law. The accusations were submitted to Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley, who declined to pursue a case against Tam, citing a lack of evidence.

Tam, Bonta and Mayor Marie Gilmore voted Dec. 28 not to renew Gallant’s contract, which expires March 31, and to place her on paid administrative leave while the city conducts a search for a new manager. Gallant’s contract requires city officials to give her 90 days' notice if they decide not to renew it.

Gallant won a $215,000 settlement following a wrongful termination suit she filed against the City of Carson, in which she claimed she was singled out for being a whistleblower. She had been that city’s general manager for development services from 2000 to 2003, but was fired for what court documents described as “back-stabbing behavior.”

The council has selected three finalists for the Alameda city manager job and has put interview panels into place to vet the finalists.

Correction: A previous version of this story's headline incorrectly indicated that Ann Marie Gallant was suing the city of Alameda and that she was no longer city manger; she has not filed a lawsuit and still holds the title during her administrative leave. The Bay Citizen regrets the error.