Former official suing city of Richmond
Posted by Terry Alexander - email
RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) - A former Richmond city employee is suing the city, claiming the former administration forced him to resign and ruined his reputation. After being accused of inappropriately receiving a taxpayer funded vehicle stipend, former emergency management director Ben Johnson was forced to resign in disgrace. He feels the city and Mayor Wilder treated him unfairly and one former city official agrees.
At one point Benjamin Johnson was a prominent member of Doug Wilder's staff, used as a spokesman for the city's effort to prepare for an emergency and spearhead the recovery effort from past disasters.
It was a job former council president Bill Pantele feels he did well.
"When I drive around Richmond and see the signs that say 'Storm ready community' I know that is largely because of the work Ben did." said Pantele.
But Johnson's role in the Wilder administration took a dramatic turn, when he was singled out for taking advantage of a city car allowance while at the same time using a city vehicle. Mayor Wilder's staff used Johnson as an example. forcing him to resign. At the time Pantele felt he was unfairly targeted.
"There were over 30 employees getting car allowances." said Pantele, "but it seemed like Ben was getting the brunt of this."
And even if Johnson's claims have merit, Attorney Steven Benjamin says its tough to win a lawsuit against city hall.
"I understand that the allegation was that he was forced to resign, but if you are being improperly asked to resign the thing you do is say no, thank you, fire me if you will," said Benjamin.
A choice Johnson said claims he didn't have. and now he is asking a court to rectify.
According to Bill Pantele, Johnson's trouble began when he expressed reservations about Doug Wilder's plan to evict the school district administration from city hall. We reached out to associates from the former mayor Wednesday night looking for comment, but our calls were not returned.
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