Imperial County’s embattled auditor-controller said the county Board of Supervisors attempted to pressure her to resign earlier this year, and are now actively preventing her from doing her job.
In an amended lawsuit filed in Imperial County Superior Court last week, Auditor-Controller Karina Alvarez alleged county administrators have barred her from speaking with employees in her department or entering the offices of the auditor-controller inside the county's central office building.
The suit appears to set up a court battle over the future of one of the county’s most important elected offices. Auditor-controllers are independent, nonpartisan officials who oversee how county governments spend public tax dollars, according to the California Association of Counties.
The legal fight also comes as the Imperial County government has been shaken by financial headwinds, a downgraded credit rating and allegations of sexual harassment by a county supervisor.
In a phone call with KPBS Tuesday, Alvarez said board members overstepped their authority and threatened the county’s financial health.
“It almost feels like, you know, like if they think I'm in a different boat and they want to drown me,” she said, “but we're all on the same boat, which is called Imperial County.”
Alvarez is seeking court orders that would force the Board to appoint an outside attorney to represent her and bar supervisors from limiting her access to the office and communication with her staff.
County spokesperson Eddie Lopez did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Attorneys for Imperial County filed a legal response earlier this month denying most of Alvarez’s claims and asking the court to reject her request.
Supervisors reprimand Alvarez
The clash between the Board and Alvarez began in April, when the five supervisors voted to publicly rebuke Alvarez.
On April 22, the Board held a vote of “no confidence” in the auditor-controller’s office. They accused her of mismanaging the office, delaying key financial reports and jeopardizing at least one federal grant.
During the public board meeting, County Chairman John Hawk claimed Alvarez had failed to publish the department’s financial reports on time and was putting the county’s finances at risk, particularly its credit rating.
Alvarez defended her record at the time, arguing she had inherited a troubled office. In 2022, the previous auditor-controller, Josue Mercado, was convicted of misusing public funds and sentenced to two years in prison.
Alvarez was appointed to replace Mercado in mid-2022 and ran for election unopposed later that year.
Still, the Board voted unanimously to reprimand Alvarez. They also removed her job description and expanded the assistant auditor-controller’s duties to include supervising the office.
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Several weeks later, Alvarez alleges in her suit, several supervisors spoke privately with her and insinuated that she should step down.
On May 8, Alvarez claims, Board of Supervisors Chairman John Hawk and Supervisor Peggy Price asked to meet with Alvarez privately. Hawk suggested she “give up” sections in the Auditor-Controller’s Office, the suit said. Hawk and Price both also allegedly told Alvarez to “do the right thing.”
The suit goes on to say Alvarez believed the two supervisors were “effectively requesting that she resign her elected office.” She refused.
The next day, according to Alvarez’s suit, Supervisor Ryan Kelley called Alvarez over the phone and told her to “do the right thing.” Alvarez said she again refused.
In a phone call Tuesday afternoon, Kelley acknowledged that he spoke with Alvarez around May 9. But he adamantly denied implying that Alvarez should resign.
“I can’t have any understanding of what's in her mind or how she interprets English,” Kelley said. “I can tell you emphatically that I did not say what she's inferring.”
Hawk and Price did not immediately respond to emails requesting comment Tuesday afternoon.
Barred from the office
Also in early May, Alvarez’s suit claims county administrators sent her a memo ordering her to move to a separate office building across the street from the main county administration office.
Alvarez and her attorneys attached a copy of the memo in the amended lawsuit filed last week.
The memo was sent by Assistant County Executive Officer Rebecca Terrazas-Baxter. It orders Alvarez to cease any contact with staff in her department, including through emails, texts, phone calls and in-person meetings.
The memo also instructs Alvarez to communicate only with her second-in-command, Assistant Auditor-Controller Edith Anaya.
In it, Terrazas-Baxter said staff in Alvarez’s office had raised concerns about an “uncomfortable work environment” and were “fearful of retaliation.” Terrazas-Baxter said the county was temporarily relocating Alvarez to conduct a workplace assessment and develop an action plan.
Terrazas-Baxter said the changes were not meant to punish Alvarez or prevent her from doing her duties.
Alvarez filed her original lawsuit in late May, two weeks after she allegedly received the memo.
On June 30, according to Alvarez’s suit, Terrazas-Baxter sent her a second memo. Terrazas-Baxter said Alvarez would be barred from entering the main county office building and contacting her employees through mid-November.
Over the phone, Alvarez denied that she had done anything to create fear of retaliation among her staff.
Terrazas-Baxter did not respond Tuesday to an email from KPBS requesting comment. In an automatic reply, she said she had left her position with the county government on July 18.
State protections for auditor-controllers
Conflicts between auditor-controllers and county officials aren’t new to California.
In 2016, two Orange County supervisors sent out a set of large scale mailers during an election season. The county’s auditor-controller, Eric Woolery, halted payments on several of the mailers over concerns that they violated state regulations.
Those clashes in Orange County prompted state lawmakers to take action. In 2018, they passed AB 3068, allowing auditor-controllers to hire an outside attorney if they run into a conflict with the Board of Supervisors or other county officials.
State law already allowed certain other county officials, including the sheriff and assessor, to hire independent counsel.
“AB 3068 enables elected auditor-controllers, as well as the sheriff and assessor, to more effectively carry out their responsibilities,” wrote legislative analyst Anton Favorini-Csorba in their analysis of the bill. “This ultimately protects the fiscal health of counties.”
Alvarez and her attorneys are seeking a court order under that specific law that would force the Imperial County Board of Supervisors to hire her an outside attorney.
Imperial County’s attorneys have asked the court to deny Alvarez’s request.
The stakes of the legal case are high. Last month, the S&P Global ratings agency downgraded the county’s credit rating. The agency listed several reasons, including delayed financial reports and the Board of Supervisors’ recent decision to fire top administrators without saying why. A lower credit rating means it will cost taxpayers more if the county government needs to borrow money.
On Tuesday, Kelley declined to comment on other details of Alvarez’s lawsuit and said he would leave the decision to the courts. He said the board “took appropriate action” to protect the county’s finances.
Alvarez said her goal was to continue carrying out her duty as an elected official to make sure the county’s finances were transparent.
“I honestly don't know what's going on or why this is happening,” she told KPBS Tuesday. “But I took an oath to do my job, and I'm going to do it.”
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