A divided Costa Mesa City Council on Tuesday, May 6, fired City Manager Lori Ann Farrell Harrison, leaving the city without a top executive without providing an explanation for what led to her termination.

On the council’s closed session agenda Tuesday was an item titled “public employee performance evaluation.” City Attorney Kimberly Barlow said the council, in closed session, voted to terminate her employment agreement without cause.

The motion was made by Councilmember Loren Gameros, Barlow said.

The vote was 4-2-1. Councilmembers Arlis Reynolds and Andrea Marr voted against her termination, and Mayor John Stephens abstained.

“I’m grateful for Lori Ann’s service to the city since 2019, including and especially during the pandemic, and I wish her all the best,” Stephens said Wednesday.

Farrell Harrison joined the city in 2019 after serving as the assistant city manager in Huntington Beach for two years, with a long history of working in city government in Southern California. She earned a $309,000 salary in 2023, according to the city compensation list.

Farrell Harrison did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The council, during the meeting, did not expand on why she was terminated.

Following the vote, Reynolds and Marr spoke at length in praise of Farrell Harrison’s service and said they would have more to say about the decision.

“We’ve sat through some council meetings where I’ve gone home with a lot of questions by the decisions of members on this council,” Reynolds said, “but certainly tonight this is the most questionable decision that I’ve observed, and it gives me a lot of concern.”

Marr said Farrell Harrison was able to recruit and train city staff effectively and kept the city’s finances in check during the pandemic years when other cities turned to sales tax increases to balance their budgets.

“She was an excellent city manager,” Marr said. “In part because she balanced the needs and requests of all seven of us with the needs of the city. … I am embarrassed that this is how we have chosen to treat the woman who so capably led our city for so long.”

Councilmember Manuel Chavez said briefly that “today’s decision was not a light one for me” but offered praise for Farrell Harrison despite his vote to fire her.

Chavez did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.

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