19 Dec Richmond City Attorney to Resign at Year’s End

Richmond Chief Assistant City Attorney Shannon Moore at Tuesday’s City Council meeting was chosen to next hold the position of city attorney on an interim basis. (Screenshot captured by Samantha Kennedy / The CC Pulse)

By Samantha Kennedy

Richmond City Attorney Dave Aleshire is set to resign from his role at the end of this month, after serving in the position since late 2021; Chief Assistant City Attorney Shannon Moore will hold the position on an interim basis.

City Council on Tuesday approved Aleshire’s resignation, which he said in an email to the Bay Area News Group was because of a health scare.

“My wife wasn’t happy about that, so I’m cutting back a bit on the schedule,” he told that news organization on Wednesday. He also cited the demands of traveling regularly to Richmond from his home in Irvine, more than 400 miles away.

Aleshire was first appointed to the position on an interim basis in December 2021 when he took over for Teresa Stricker. In July 2022, he was named to the position permanently.

Council members Sue Wilson, Claudia Jimenez and Soheila Bana said that they had been happy with Aleshire’s services, with Jimenez saying he was “instrumental” in helping finalize the Chevron settlement agreement.

But Bana also noted that she wasn’t entirely happy with how the position had been set up.

“I’m much happier now that we’re gonna have our own city attorney, where there’s no conflict of interest and we can hire Dave and other attorneys at his firm, for different projects, but he’s not our city attorney. There’s no conflict of interest,” she said.

An ad-hoc committee, which Aleshire first informed of his resignation, recommended that his firm, Aleshire & Wynder, continue to provide services on an “outside counsel basis.”

“The proposed agreement will allow him to focus on projects where his expertise, experience and historical knowledge will be best used,” the agenda report reads.

The extension totals $150,000 and will last through Dec. 31, 2026.

Once Moore takes over the role, her compensation will grow by 15%. That means she’ll earn $341,391.58. The agreement also requires that Moore retain her current role if she’s not later appointed to the city attorney’s position permanently.

Managed through the ad-hoc committee and interim Senior Assistant City Attorney Heather McLaughlin, the city will start recruiting for a new city manager. The chosen city attorney will then “evaluate the need” for outside counsel, including with Aleshire’s firm.

Mayor Eduardo Martinez was scheduled to deliver a State of the City address Tuesday but was absent from the meeting due to illness.