Los Angeles – Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa issued the first veto of his administration Monday, striking down the City Council’s approval of a lawsuit settlement that would pay $2.7 million to a black firefighter who said he was a victim of racial harassment.
The case involved Tennie Pierce, who sued the city after discovering that dog food had been mixed into a spaghetti dinner served to him by fellow firefighters. But the settlement’s size, the largest in the Fire Department’s history, triggered a swell of public reaction that deepened when a website posted photos of Pierce engaged in hazing pranks.
The mayor’s veto sent a rebuke to the council, which voted 11-1 for the settlement, and to the city attorney, who recommended the deal though some of his deputies knew from lawsuit testimony that Pierce had appeared in hazing photos. Several council members said they were not shown any photos before the settlement vote.
