Bell Gardens : Manager Fires His Deputy; 5th Recent Staff Departure

Deputy City Manager Robert Dickey was fired this week after City Manager William Vasquez sent him a memo saying that he “lacks confidence in (Dickey’s) enthusiasm to serve the community.”

Dickey had been with the city since 1987, and his departure comes after much speculation around City Hall that he was on the short list of administrators the new City Council wanted removed from office. Vasquez’s memo said the “city can progress by replacing” Dickey.

He was one of a handful of employees remaining at City Hall thought to be loyal to four City Council members recalled last December.

Dickey is the fifth department head to leave Bell Gardens since the new council took office in March, joining former City Manager Claude Booker, City Clerk Leanna Keltner, City Atty. Peter Wallin and Police Chief William Donohoe.

“This is very difficult,” Dickey said Monday after returning from an out-of-town meeting to find Vasquez’s memo on his desk. “I figured (the council) didn’t want me around, but I wanted to leave on good terms.”

City officials said they have no immediate plans to replace Dickey.