CROWD BACKS CARAVALHO TENSION BETWEEN CITY MANAGER, MAYOR REACHES HEIGHT AT MEETING.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Ignoring pleas for order, hundreds of people packed City Hall on Friday cheering embattled City Manager George Caravalho and jeering the mayor who had spearheaded an effort to fire him.

``Recall! Recall! Recall! Recall Laurene!'' shouted the 250 people, some of whom took the day off work, juggled baby-sitters and rescheduled meetings to attend the midday special meeting. Tension had been brewing between Weste and Caravalho for months and boiled over at the standing-room-only meeting in City Hall.

``It is a terrible thing to live in a city where people are afraid of the mayor,'' said Jan Heidt, a retired member of Santa Clarita's founding City Council. ``Laurene, you need to back off and let people do their jobs and not be so ... mean about it.''

Dozens of residents praised Caravalho's accomplishments in his 13 years as the city's top administrator before the council members went into an hours-long closed-door meeting. During the open session, speakers were allowed just one minute at the microphone.

``I find it difficult to defend a hero in a sound bite,'' local real estate agent Mike Lebecki told the council, calling the action a disaster.

Caravalho's 18-year-old son, Gus, told the council: ``If you serve tirelessly as my father has, you deserve better than this.''

The teen sat through the rest of the raucous hearing, frequently clasping his hands in prayer.

Weste has challenged Caravalho for years, most frequently over the city's contracts with private companies for trash and recycling pickup.

Thursday, she and fellow council members Jo Anne Darcy and Bob Kellar called the special meeting to consider terminating Caravalho's contract.

The action came the day The Signal newspaper reported the details of a 4-year-old lawsuit filed by a former employee. A judge had thrown out all but one count of the suit, and the city subsequently settled for $325,000 - $100,000 in taxpayer money, the balance from insurance.

On Friday, several staff members wiped away tears throughout the meeting and approached the podium to laud their boss. Despite Weste's pleas for silence, applause and cheering marked each speaker who urged that Caravalho be retained.

``George has made me a better planner and a better human,'' said Jason Smisko. ``But there is a significant fear of retribution for speaking out about this issue.''

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

(color) City Manager George Caravalho, right, sits before council members Jo Anne Darcy, Bob Kellar and Laurene Weste, who met Friday to discuss firing him.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer