Del Mar City Council Censures Dan Quirk

In today's City Council session, the members voted overwhelmingly to censure Councilmember Dan Quirk for the second time in four months. The resolution to do so came about after the Council received the findings of an independent, third-party investigationthat the City was forced to commission in October 2023 concerning allegations of his relentless, disparaging and disrespectful conduct towards dozens of diverse staff members. Until then, all efforts to convince Mr. Quirk to change this unprofessional behavior had failed. The investigator's report outlined in stark terms that Mr. Quirk regularly violated several procedures and policies that unnecessarily exposed the City to potentially increased legal liability, higher employee attrition and greater skepticism of government functions by the citizens and businesses that call Del Mar home. Moreover, his actions, done under the pretense of fostering greater government transparency, did the opposite by delaying important action on several initiatives and costing taxpayers hard dollar expenses not previously budgeted.

The adopted censure resolution also directed Mr. Quirk not to engage in one-on-one discussions with City Manager Ashely Jones. The motion also instructed him to refrain from taking any adverse, punitive, or other retaliatory action against any person he perceives participated in the investigation.

We sincerely hope that Mr. Quirk recognizes the seriousness of today's actions and directs all issues he cares about raising in the future in Council session. We appreciate his perspectives on all City matters, but we will not allow our esteemed City Manager, Ashley Jones, or our dedicated employees to be mistreated, regardless of who commits the acts. We did not undertake our action lightly but felt compelled to do so given the repeated badgering nature he displayed with staff.

Mayor Dave Druker prepared this statement on behalf of the Del Mar City Council.