Former top San Jose city staffer files defamation lawsuit against mayor and chief of staff
A former top San Jose city employee who worked for Mayor Matt Mahan is suing him, the city and one of his top deputies in federal court on defamation charges, accusing the two of falsely blaming her for leaking information last year about Mahan’s choice for the vice mayor seat.
About one week into her job as the mayor’s budget director in January 2023, Stacey Katz Brown alleges Mahan and Chief of Staff Jim Reed wrongly pointed the finger at her for tipping off Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez — Mahan’s opponent in a hotly contested race for the city’s top job in 2022 — to the nomination of Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei. Brown said she was then fired.
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for the mayor deferred to Reed, who wrote in a statement, “The lawsuit is baseless and we intend to fully defend against these falsehoods.”
Attorney James McManis, who is representing Brown, called Mahan and Reed’s actions a “terrible thing.”
He added, “We’re going to bring them to justice.”
Brown, who had worked as Councilmember David Cohen’s chief of staff since 2021, says she was first offered the budget director job on Dec. 6, about a month after Mahan was elected as mayor. Shortly after the offer, Brown alleges that she was offered a lower salary than she had been promised of $152,500, but took the position since she had already told Cohen she was leaving his office.
On Jan. 5, during a scheduled meeting about the budget, Brown said Reed “came bursting through the door and loudly announced to the room that Mayor Mahan was irate because his choice for vice mayor, Councilmember Kamei, had been leaked to Supervisor Chavez who, in turn, had called and complained to Councilmember Kamei about her decision to join forces with Mayor Mahan.”
Two days later, Reed accused Brown of the leak, which she “unequivocally denied,” according to the lawsuit. Brown said when she tried reaching out to Mahan about the issue, the mayor told her he was deferring to Reed’s decision. She claims the two repeated the “false accusation” around City Hall and the Silicon Valley political community, making it difficult for her to find employment.
The choice of Kamei, who was backed by labor during her 2022 campaign, was perceived at the time as an attempt by Mahan to bridge the gap between the vice mayor’s supporters and his business allies. The mayor’s budget director position is currently held by Stephen Caines.
The scuffle was first reported by San Jose Spotlight in June after Brown filed a claim against the city. The federal lawsuit was filed on Wednesday.