San Diego City Councilmember Henry Foster had one of the hardest jobs in the city: He had to oversee cuts and fee increases as chair of the Budget Committee. The job has featured a bruising battle with the mayor’s staff.
But it wasn’t his first run in with a mayor and his staff.
City personnel records show city managers fired Foster, who once managed the city’s Equal Opportunity Contracting Program, in 2016 and recommended he not be rehired. The records don’t clarify why.
Foster’s take: Foster, who just launched his re-election campaign, did not respond to a request for comment. But at a public forum during his 2024 campaign, Foster spoke about the firing and said he believed he had a duty not to sign off on contracts he felt didn’t meet anti-discrimination standards. He also noted he d