McClendon told the Times that he believed the firing was likely in retaliation for becoming a whistle-blower against the Board of Supervisors. He said he had told Fujioka that supervisors’ aides often tried influencing hearing officers’ decisions on whether to permit development plans. “It was illegal, and they can go to jail for doing it,” McClendon told the Times.
McClendon arrived in LA two years ago from Orange County, Fla., where he was a planner. He is a past president of the American Planning Association. He is the author of five books on planning and in Los Angeles worked to update the county’s master planning document, which had been basically unchanged for 35 years.
In our third California issue ever, we sat down with the commish a few months after he took the job. While we’re happy McClendon took a stand on an important issue, we’re also sorry to see a capable planner let go.