Former Santa Rosa administrator settles for $102.5K

SANTA ROSA — Former Santa Rosa city administrator Lisa Brassell has settled her case against Santa Rosa city government officials for a sum of $102,500 to be divided between Brassell and her attorney Michael Schwarz of Santa Fe, according to a copy of the settlement.

In return, according to a copy of the agreement obtained through the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act, Brassell has dropped all charges against the city officials, including former city councilor Jose Campos III, who was named as a defendant in an amended complaint filed on Oct. 13, 2022.

The agreement was signed on March 4, court records show.

City Clerk Amy Campos said the city is paying for $5,000 in damages, which represents backpay, complete with W2 forms, but the rest will be paid out of the state’s Self Insurers’ Fund, a New Mexico Municipal League program.

The case stems from Brassell’s dismissal from her city administrator post by a City Council vote on June 11, 2021, court documents show, after Brassell refused to resign from her post as “demanded” by city officials on May 12, 2021.

Brassell filed her suit against the city in 4th Judicial District Court on Sept. 9, 2021, claiming the city had breached her contract.

In an amended complaint filed a year later, Brassell named Campos specifically as a defendant, alleging Campos had called for her dismissal after meeting with city employees who apparently told Campos they would quit if Brassell wasn’t dismissed.

On Oct. 26, 2022, Brassell’s case was moved to federal court, due to Brassell’s claim that her dismissal violated her rights to due process under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The case was settled after the federal case was filed.