City Corporation Counsel Michael B. Weinstein has been fired, but he’s not leaving quietly, Weinstein said Thursday.
Weinstein said Rick Todas, Mayor David Stover’s chief of staff, delivered a terse two-sentence letter to him last Friday stating his “services as corporation counsel . . . terminate on this date.” It told him to turn in his keys and pager and remove his personal property. It was signed by Stover.
Stover spokesman Bill Catching confirmed the letter, but would not say why Weinstein was fired. Weinstein said Todas also gave him no reason for the dismissal when asked.
Weinstein said he expects to appear before the City Council next Tuesday and contest his firing. If seven of 10 aldermen vote to overturn it, he must be hired back, under city ordinances.
“I am confident that the council will rectify the situation,” Weinstein said. “If the council chooses not to, I will avail myself of all the remedies possible.”
Under city ordinances, Stover has the right to fire department heads for cause, but must report why to the City Council at a council meeting within 20 days. If a mayor fires a department head for political reasons, however, he is not required to give an explanation.
In late September, Todas asked Weinstein to resign at Stover’s instruction. At the time, Stover expressed a concern that legal matters were not being handled fast enough by Weinstein’s staff. Catching said the resignation request was based on performance, not political, issues.
But Weinstein pointed out that when Stover took office in late April, five lawyers worked in his office, and three were on medical leave during much of the summer. Another is assigned to branch criminal court, taking up the bulk of his time.
Weinstein said he doubts the existence of a valid performance reason for firing him.
“I cannot imagine any justified reason for dismissing me,” he said.
Weinstein is a former assistant attorney general who has worked for the city for 14 years.
