Loew blow

When in doubt, sue it out? The city of San Luis Obispo, City Manager Whitney McDonald, Assistant City Manager Scott Collins, Community Development Director Timothea Tway, and City Attorney Christine Dietrick are all being sued by former chief building official, Michael Loew, for allegedly retaliating against him after he complained about the city’s inaction regarding building safety and for causing him emotional distress.

Loew claims the city ignored his determination that 1150 Laurel Lane, which formerly housed Bang the Drum Brewery among other businesses and residents, was dangerously uninhabitable. He also claims the city directed him to create a fee system to keep money flowing to the city yet denied his department an adequate operating budget. 

“Plaintiff [Michael Loew] disclosed these concerns repeatedly and through appropriate channels,” his suit reads. “In response, defendants retaliated. They stripped him of key enforcement duties, denied him budget resources his own fee-justification analysis proved were required, excluded him from safety initiatives, subjected him to a three-hour intimidation session in which the city manager accused him of being ‘immoral,’ and—11 days after an independent board of appeals unanimously upheld every one of his safety determinations—the city attorney issued a written directive instructing him to cease enforcement while his direct supervisor simultaneously issued him a written reprimand.”

If true, that’s some nasty behavior, city of SLO! Nasty! Loew resigned last year and now holds the same position in Lompoc. His wife, Jackie Loew, had and still has her own lawsuits going. She sued both her former employers—Iowa’s Saydel Community School District and the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District—for alleged gender discrimination and a reported Brown Act violation, respectively. 

Her Iowa suit was settled for $85,000, but her Santa Maria suit is still active. Meanwhile, her husband’s suit against SLO is seeking a sum in excess of $25,000. I’m guessing it’s in excess by a lot. Honestly, $25K doesn’t seem like much. Don’t get me wrong, I’d take it. But with lawyers and all the rigmarole, it wouldn’t seem worth it. It almost feels like by suggesting such a low figure, you’re begging the city to settle out of court to avoid the hassle.

Currently, however, the city wants its day in court. Assistant City Attorney Markie Kersten told New Times via email that the city officials haven’t been served papers, and “the lawsuit represents only unproven allegations of a former city employee that the city will challenge through the court process. Based on preliminary review of the complaint, the city maintains that it engaged in no wrongful conduct and asserts these allegations are without merit. The city looks forward to vigorously defending its position through the appropriate court process and will litigate this case through evidence presented in court.”

Maybe the Loews are sue-happy, or maybe they’re using the tools available to hold those in power to account. After all, this is the same couple that snapped back at former mayor and current City Councilperson Jan Marx after she got the city to eliminate a parking spot in front of the Loews’ SLO home. Marx, their neighbor, complained to the city, which came out and painted the parking space red, so Loew filed a records request, discovered it was Marx, and lodged a complaint to the city, which admitted eliminating the space was wrong.

What the hell, public officials? Y’all just get to do whatever you want? You probably heard by now that our current mayor, Erica Stewart, leaked the grand jury’s “Round and Round with Town and Gown” reportabout frat parties to Cal Poly before it was officially released, a violation of California Penal Code 933.05 (f). Stewart just decided Cal Poly needed to see it, though when she appeared on Dave Congalton’s KVEC-AM Hometown Radio show on June 15, she claimed, “I believe the university was already among one of the many stakeholders that had received this letter and the report.”

OK, so if they received it, why did you need to give them a copy? She told Congalton she’d broken no laws and would do it again. Oh yeah? Last year, a Santa Clara City Council member was sentenced to jail for lying under oath and leaking a draft grand jury report. 

“We are aware of the allegation and the radio interview that has been reported on,” SLO County District Attorney Dan Dow told New Times. “Our office does not typically confirm or deny if we have ongoing public integrity investigations. It is definitely a violation of California’s penal code for any individual to share a confidential grand jury report that has not been publicly released by the grand jury.”

Speaking of low blows and lawsuits, California and the California Energy Commission are suing the U.S. Department of the Interior for “an illegal buyout” under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of Golden State Wind LLC’s Morro Bay offshore wind lease. The deal takes $120 million in taxpayer money to pay GSW to abandon its lease but requires it to “invest an equal amount in out-of-state fossil-fuel projects that will do nothing to support California’s energy economy,” the state media office announced. “Just last week, the Trump administration used the same maneuver to pay off another California offshore wind leaseholder, Invenergy, to the tune of $765 million.”

Corruption! It’s what’s for dinner! ∆

The Shredder never sued anyone. Give it a reason to at shredder@newtimesslo.com.

This article appears in June 25 – July 2, 2026.