Blanca Martinez-Navarro Case: What Happens When L.A. City Officials Come Under Suspicion? They Get a Paid Vacation
Blanca Martinez-Navarro is one of L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's gang-reduction staffers. She's also in trouble: Cops said she attacked an officer last weekend at the Conga Room downtown. And so the mayor's office placed her on administrative leave.
Facebook Blanca Martinez-Navarro.
What, exactly, does that entail? According to LA Opinion, it really amounts to a paid vacation.
In Martinez-Navarro's case, the paper calculates her salary is between $80,000 and $133,000 a year.
City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana, essentially L.A.'s budget chief, took in $21,000 while on paid leave last year, according to La Opinion. He was accused by the D.A.'s office of drunk driving following a soiree ... for D.A. Steve Cooley.
In a 2008 case, a staffer of Councilman Jose Huizar, Henry Casas, took in about $50,000 during his sixth month leave. He was involved in a domestic violence investigation.
Huizar said it's a touchy situation: Employees can be accused but be innocent, so the city has to be careful about how they treat them.
But Glassell Park activist Tony Butka says it's a good way of keeping problem officials out of the spotlight:
"Some politicians try to take the person away from the newspapers ...," he said.
[La Opinion. Google Translate].
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