JL Group Report Exposes How San Bernardino Lost a City Manager and Paid $800K: Leaks, Interagency Contact, a Binder Left Behind

How did the name of a top city manager candidate leak — and who’s responsible for costing the City of San Bernardino an $800,000 settlement? That question is at the heart of a confidential investigative report authored by JL Group and obtained through a California Public Records Act request.

The report outlines a troubling series of events surrounding Steve Carrigan, the former City Manager of Salinas, who became the top candidate for San Bernardino’s city manager role in mid-2023. Though Carrigan never formally accepted or began the position, he ultimately withdrew from the recruitment process citing internal leaks, racialized political pressure, and public opposition he described as “orchestrated.”

The administrative investigation — conducted by Jeff Brouwer and Jason Kravetz, special investigators with JL Group, and Jeff Love, Attorney at Law — identifies multiple points of breakdown: confidential material left unsecured by a councilmember, apparent backchannel communication between police departments, and internal edits to investigative documents just hours before they were presented to the City Council.

Carrigan, who was contacted by media and faced public scrutiny before the city had formally announced a decision, said the situation felt increasingly unstable. In the JL Group report, he cited these compounding pressures as the basis for his formal withdrawal on September 28, 2023.

Carrigan informed Frank Rojas, recruitment manager for Koff & Associates, of his decision. Rojas had previously recruited Carrigan for the Salinas city manager role and had ongoing professional ties with other key staff — including then-Deputy City Manager Suzie Soren. The closeness of those relationships raised quiet concern among some observers about the impartiality of the process.

Just four days later, on October 2, 2023, the Salinas City Council voted to terminate Carrigan’s employment — a consequence he believes was triggered by the leaks and perceived instability tied to the San Bernardino recruitment process. 

‘We Cost You Your Job’: Shorett and Soren’s Calls to Carrigan and Council Vote Dynamics

Carrigan’s testimony provided further clarity. In his interview with JL Group investigators, he said that following his withdrawal from the San Bernardino position, both Mayor Pro Tem Fred Shorett and then-Deputy City Manager Suzie Soren called him directly.

According to Carrigan, Shorett said, “I’m so sorry. We cost you your job.” Carrigan recalled that Suzie Soren expressed similar remorse, telling him she was sorry and acknowledging that the situation had gone wrong. Carrigan interpreted both calls as sincere, yet he remained skeptical of their motivations.

Both Shorett and Soren urged Carrigan to reconsider his decision to withdraw, according to the interview. “Would you reconsider being the San Bernardino City Manager?” they asked.

Carrigan said he was stunned by the calls and hadn’t planned to pursue legal action until that point. “That’s where my head was going — do you want to be our city manager?” he recalled. “But I also thought… they were doing this just to cover themselves legally.”

The JL Group report also noted that Carrigan referenced a 5-3 vote by the San Bernardino City Council during his in-person interview, indicating a divided but favorable consensus at one point to offer him the job. Carrigan also noted that all three “Black councilmembers” — Kimberly Calvin, Damon Alexander, and Ben Reynoso — voted against his appointment. However, Carrigan stated he became increasingly concerned after what he described as an “orchestrated” campaign began to form around public opposition to his appointment.

“There were people who got up to speak against me at that specific Council meeting, and it just felt coordinated,” Carrigan told investigators. The report does not specify who may have organized the opposition, but it notes that Carrigan believed the effort was not spontaneous. This moment, according to Carrigan, was another turning point that ultimately pushed him to withdraw from the process.

Councilmember Alexander Admits Leaving Carrigan’s File in Public

In a pivotal moment within the JL Group report, Councilmember Damon Alexander admitted to leaving behind a confidential recruitment binder containing Carrigan’s information at a public Fatherhood event. Alexander stated that he brought the notebook with him to the event so he could study while it was taking place. When he left, the book was on the table where he had been seated next to Mr. Berryman.

“I brought it with me so I could study,” Alexander told investigators, acknowledging that he accidentally left the binder on a table before it was later recovered and returned to the Mayor’s office. The folder’s contents were not secured, potentially exposing candidate information to members of the public.

UPDATE – April 17, 2025

In a phone call with IECN on April 17, 2025, Alexander offered new information, saying, “The binder went from Ryan Berryman of San Bernardino Fatherhood, to the mayor, back to myself. I left it on the table, and it went from him to the mayor and no one else. What does that tell you about the book? The leak was already done before I left the book.”

Alexander also stated that he had requested a full forensic audit of all councilmembers’ electronic devices. “I asked that all our electronic items be turned in to the city attorney to be forensically audited—computers, laptops, personal items like phones—and I was ready to turn mine in as soon as I made the statement. I wanted to find out who was the leak.”

In a separate April 17 phone call with IECN, former Councilmember Ben Reynoso confirmed Alexander’s request for forensic investigation and his willingness to submit devices. “Yes, Damon Alexander wanted forensic investigation efforts and he volunteered his electronic devices upfront because everyone was slinging that accusation that the leak came from his notebook that was left behind,” Reynoso said. “There were easier culprits, and it became a scapegoat on his folder. In a meeting he was like, ‘Why is everyone coming at me?’”

Reynoso also alluded to his belief that the leak likely occurred before Alexander’s binder was ever left behind.

Back in the investigative report, Alexander also acknowledged that closed session details appeared on a Facebook group run by an associate of Councilmember Kim Calvin. When asked how the information leaked, Alexander said, “You know who to look at,” implying internal council culpability. Although he did not name anyone directly, his remarks were interpreted as pointing toward Treasure Ortiz, now a councilmember, who had been previously accused of leaking closed session information — an accusation the report called into question.

Racial Framing: ‘They Wanted Someone Who Looked Like Them’

According to Carrigan, prior to his dismissal, tensions were already escalating in Salinas. He told investigators that some members of the Salinas City Council were seeking to hire a Latino candidate.

“They wanted someone who looked like them,” Carrigan said. Days after his withdrawal from San Bernardino became public — amid circulating rumors and apparent leaks by the Sentinel— the Salinas City Council voted to terminate him.

Despite Carrigan’s email to San Bernardino officials on Sept. 28, 2023, clearly stating that he had chosen to stay in Salinas, the San Bernardino City Council later voted to approve an $800,000 settlement without admitting wrongdoing.

Metadata Shows Internal Edits by Soren Before Council Vote

Further compounding the issue, file tracking information included in the City of San Bernardino’s Public Records Act response shows that then-Deputy City Manager Suzie Soren accessed and edited the JL Group investigative report on August 7, 2024 — the same day it was presented to the San Bernardino City Council in closed session.

The document activity logs show that Soren was the last person to modify the report prior to its distribution to the council. While the specific nature of the changes she made was not outlined in the materials released, the timing of the edits has raised significant concerns about the independence and reliability of the investigative report used to justify the $800,000 settlement to Steve Carrigan.

“Residents have friends on the inside,” a city source told IECN. “And they want better for San Bernardino.”

Calvin and Ortiz May Have Been Wrongly Blamed

Until now, much of the blame for the Carrigan leak had been pinned on Councilmembers Kimberly Calvin and Treasure Ortiz. However, the JL Group report, along with Councilmember Damon Alexander’s admission that he left Carrigan’s confidential binder at a public event, strongly suggest that the leak may have come from other sources within the city — not the two female councilmembers previously accused.

In total, the report paints a picture of systemic failure to safeguard confidential information. Despite this, suspicion was largely directed toward Calvin and Ortiz, both of whom appear to have been scapegoated amid a broader collapse of internal accountability.

Constitutional Concerns Over Payout

As previously reported by IECN, former Councilwoman Kimberly Calvin cited California Constitution Article XVI, Section 6 — which prohibits gifts of public funds — when criticizing the city’s decision to settle with Carrigan.

“Each sitting councilmember at this moment, the city attorney, city clerk, and many staff members were aware of the falsely authorized and edited report that was done on behalf of Steve Carrigan,” Calvin said during a March 2024 council meeting.

Carrigan never signed a contract nor began work in San Bernardino. Nonetheless, the council voted 5-1 in closed session to approve the settlement. Only Councilmember Sandra Ibarra dissented; Calvin was absent from the vote.

What Comes Next

With revelations of internal negligence, improper edits, and unauthorized interagency contact between police departments, residents and legal analysts alike are questioning the basis for the $800,000 settlement — and whether Carrigan’s claim would have succeeded in court.

“The council voted to give away $800,000 to someone who did not deserve our money,” a reliable source told us. “And now we know the truth.”

As of publication, Bill Gallardo serves as the Interim City Manager of San Bernardino, and the city is in the midst of a nationwide search for a permanent replacement. In light of the findings from the JL Group report, this moment presents a critical opportunity for both councilmembers and city staff to reestablish integrity and procedural discipline. As the hiring process moves forward, maintaining strict confidentiality and shielding candidate information from public and political interference should remain a top priority.

Full report that we obtained is attached below.