Cambria's ex-fire chief was fired from at least one previous job, which he also sued over 

[{
    "name": "Ad - Medium Rectangle CC01 - 300x250",
    "id": "AdMediumRectangleCC01300x250",
    "class": "inlineCenter",
    "insertPoint": "8",
    "component": "2963441",
    "requiredCountToDisplay": "12"
    },{
    "name": "Ad - Medium Rectangle LC01 - 300x250",
    "id": "AdMediumRectangleCC01300x250",
    "class": "inlineCenter",
    "insertPoint": "18",
    "component": "2963441",
    "requiredCountToDisplay": "22"
    },{
    "name": "Ad - Medium Rectangle LC09 - 300x250",
    "id": "AdMediumRectangleLC09300x250",
    "class": "inlineCenter",
    "insertPoint": "28",
    "component": "3252660",
    "requiredCountToDisplay": "32"
    }]

In a March 1 letter to the community, Cambria Community Services District (CSD) General Manager Matthew McElhenie preaches perseverance.

"Accusations, whether founded or unfounded, can cast a shadow over the reputation and integrity we've built as a community," the letter read. "We're addressing you now not to dwell on the accusations that have been levied against us but to emphasize our commitment to standing strong together."

While the letter alludes to a lawsuit filed against the CSD on Jan. 26, it doesn't mention it outright. Cambria's ex-fire chief, Justin Vincent, was fired in October 2023. He responded with a wrongful termination suit, levying a slew of allegations against McElhenie and other district employees, including abuse of power and inappropriate behavior.

According to the lawsuit, Vincent had been Cambria fire chief for a year, received only positive performance reviews, and displayed no behaviors that would warrant his sudden firing.

"Plaintiff suffered and continues to suffer economic loss, loss of reputation, shame mortifications, hurt feelings, physical and emotional distress," the January lawsuit reads. "In doing the acts herein alleged ... defendants ... acted with oppression, fraud, malice, and in conscious disregard of the rights of the plaintiff."

It's not the first time Vincent has filed a lawsuit after being fired or has dealt with internal conflicts on the job. Vincent clashed with at least one of his previous employers. In 2017, he sued California City after his contract was terminated. In 2021, he parted ways with Suisun City for reasons that are still unclear.

According to SLO County court filings, Vincent claims that McElhenie, Cambria CSD Administrative Assistant Haley Dodson, and 10 unnamed CSD employees took targeted actions against him after he spoke up about Dodson's alleged abuse of power and McElhenie's response to those claims.

Vincent made similar accusations in a lawsuit against California City, citing an unfair termination resulting from retaliatory practices. According to a summary judgment issued in the case, the California City lawsuit was dismissed by the judge due to contradictions in Vincent's testimony and "indisputable facts" provided by the city.

Vincent alleged in his 2017 California City lawsuit that he was retaliated against for insisting that the fire department receive more funding to ramp up marijuana code enforcement and for rumors he spread about California City Mayor Jennifer Wood.

In court documents, Vincent claimed that as soon as he started his new role in California City, he was pressured to give handouts to marijuana businesses.

"City officials pressured [him] to be 'business friendly' to cannabis business and to allow them to obtain permits, sometimes, without meeting fire code requirements," his lawsuit alleged.

Vincent then requested city funding to cover the cost of enacting a marijuana impact report's recommendations, according to the suit. The report detailed several steps Vincent believed the fire department needed to take to enforce marijuana-growing fire codes.

Several city staff members, court documents said, expressed that it was too costly—with one department manager allegedly saying that Vincent's request would "kill the town" financially.

The City Council did decide to fund part of his request, which Vincent's contract with the city stipulated it had to pull from city general funds to support. In the lawsuit, Vincent alleged that he faced hostility from city staff and administrators over the request, including what he called "discriminatory" or "retaliatory" conduct from California City Mayor Wood and Financial Director Jeanie O'Laughlin.

O'Laughlin allegedly told Vincent on multiple occasions that he needed to lighten up on his enforcement of the marijuana industry or he would not pass probation, according to the court documents.

"She has made this very personal and continued nasty behavior after she threatened my probation and is making [me] ask why she is treating me so differently," read an excerpt of an email Vincent sent to the city's Human Resources Department. "Is it my age? Is it the color of my skin? Is it that she just hates the fire department?"

Vincent also clashed with Cambria CSD General Manager McElhenie over fire department funding—specifically his pay.

According to Vincent's Cambria lawsuit, in July 2023, McElhenie met with the CSD board to discuss and later approve in a closed session meeting an increase in pay for all department heads except Vincent. This included reclassifying Dodson to a higher role, which paid $22,000 more per year.

His conflicts with McElhenie went beyond funding as well.

According to the Cambria lawsuit, Vincent said he'd openly "discussed" that there was some sort of relationship occurring between Dodson and McElhenie. He alleged that Dodson made sexually charged comments about McElhenie and threatened to resign if the CSD board of directors didn't hire McElhenie as the new general manager.

Court documents from the California City case say that City Manager Tom Weil addressed similar concerns with Vincent, asking him to stop spreading rumors about an affair between the mayor and police lieutenant.

Despite Vincent's assurance that he would stop, Weil's replacement—California City interim General Manager Robert Stockwell—received a report that Vincent continued to discuss it.

"A city employee reported to Stockwell that [Vincent] had been in City Hall loudly speaking with other city staff managers about [his] belief that Wood was having an affair," an excerpt from the California City lawsuit summary judgment read. "[The employee] also 'explained to Stockwell that [Vincent] spent a significant amount of time in City Hall going from cubicle to cubicle gossiping with city staff members.'"

Based on the court documents, Stockwell didn't decide to fire Vincent until the week of Dec. 13, 2016, when two additional incidents occurred.

Vincent and two citizens—Joshua and Jason Meister—got into an argument outside City Hall with the latter claiming that Vincent had accused them of offering bribes for cutbacks on regulations related to their marijuana business.

A few days later, Vincent allegedly bragged about his involvement with policy activity including going into a middle school and "dragging" two students out for an arson arrest. According to eyewitness testimony from the case's summary judgment, Vincent did this after entering City Hall dressed in assault equipment and carrying a gun.

Stockwell fired Vincent immediately following this incident, citing his failure to maintain the terms of his probation period.

"He asked me how I think I can fix the problem of people now thinking he's racist for firing me, and that that's an issue that I created and that how would I be able to fix this issue," Vincent testified in the case, according to the summary judgment, adding that Stockwell never told him why he was fired.

His lawsuit against the Cambria CSD claimed McElhenie had also fired him without due process. At the time, McElhenie said it was after "the general manager's comprehensive review and careful consideration" and that he would not comment further due to employee termination laws.

The Cambria CSD has yet to elaborate on those reasons and has said it won't comment on the current lawsuit.

According to his internal report, Stockwell fired Vincent on Dec. 18, 2016, for his conduct during his entire tenure. That conduct included gossiping about the alleged affair despite being told to stop, constant unrealistic requests for funding that would harm the city's overall well-being, and bragging about his involvement in the arson arrest.

In the summary judgment, the court said it threw Vincent's lawsuit out in 2019 due to his inability to produce evidence that he faced retaliation, was discriminated against, or was unfairly terminated.

California City representatives declined New Times' request for comment, saying that most of the City Council members and individuals mentioned in the lawsuit no longer work with the city. Vincent's representatives did not reply to requests for comment about his time in California City.

After California City, Vincent moved to the Bay Area-based Suisun City, serving as fire chief. Suisun City's council agendas and staff reports indicate that by sometime between October 2021 and January 2022, Vincent no longer held his position with the city.

Suisun City officials and the fire department declined to comment on him, his tenure, and his departure. Vincent's representatives also did not respond to New Times' request for comment on his time and departure from Suisun City.

It is unclear whether the Cambria CSD was aware of or considered Vincent's issues with California City when it hired him. In New Times reporting from 2022, then CSD General Manager John Wigold said that he couldn't divulge information about Vincent's past employment due to confidentiality laws.

McElhenie declined to comment on Vincent's initial hiring in 2022 as he was not with the CSD.

The Cambria CSD has met once since the lawsuit was filed. The CSD board held a closed session meeting on Feb. 14 to discuss the lawsuit.

"We understand that all of this can be disheartening, frustrating, and even infuriating," McElhenie said in his letter. "However, in moments like these, we must remember our shared values, our common goals, and unwavering belief in the principles that bind us together." Δ

Reach Staff Writer Adrian Vincent Rosas at [email protected].