The City of Santa Barbara on Friday afternoon announced the retirement of Rob Dayton, the city’s longtime transportation kingpin.
Dayton, the transportation planning and parking manager, had been on a leave of absence since May after he filed a complaint with the city’s Human Resources Department, claiming his religious beliefs prevented him from getting promotions at the city.
The City Council met in closed session to discuss the Dayton situation once. Around City Hall, the word was that Dayton was asking for $500,000 to retire or he would file a lawsuit.
The statement issued by the city makes no reference to any of the details related to his departure.
“Throughout his 30-year career, he has been instrumental in bringing traffic congestion cures, such as roundabouts, to our city, as well as tens of millions of dollars in bicycle and pedestrian projects,” the statement from Human Resources Director Wendy Levy stated. “Rob was responsible for conceiving projects that went beyond transportation and that brought important benefits to our community. Signature examples of Rob’s contributions include the Shoreline Park (Path) Expansion to Ledbetter Beach, Cacique Street Freeway Undercrossing, Las Positas/Cliff Roundabout and the Las Positas/Modoc Multi-Purpose Pathway.”
The release also included a pre-written statement from Dayton.
“As I embark on the next chapter of my career, I want to express my deep sense of gratitude to our high-quality city staff and to the people of Santa Barbara who so passionately care about this community,” Dayton said. “In so many ways, this has been a dream job for me, and I am proud of the work we’ve accomplished together (I often think of working for the City of Santa Barbara as paradise management). It has been my honor to serve this community.”
Dayton apparently plans to continue working as a transportation consultant.
Dayton’s complaint sparked an internal investigation that involved top city officials and members of the City Council, all of whom were directed not to talk to reporters out of fear of a lawsuit from Dayton.
Dayton is involved in an organization called Believer’s Edge, which describes itself as “a movement of men who are being activated into their calling and destiny within the marketplace community. We believe that each of us have a God-given assignment to influence the culture of government, business, arts, media and education within our own community.”
Dayton, who earned about $190,000 annually, applied for the economic development manager position but did not get the job. He also had asked then-City Administrator Paul Casey to let him lead the State Street Master Plan and revitalization efforts for the next three years, sources said, but Casey did not create a special position for him.
Dayton was on a paid leave of absence since May after he got wind of multiple conversations about him.
A private conversation between a council member and City Attorney Ariel Calonne got back to Dayton from a variety of sources, and he filed a complaint with the Human Resources Department, apparently upset that city officials and employees were talking about his Christian beliefs, since religious speech is protected in the workplace.
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.