Longtime Pismo Beach city attorney resigns after 25 years
Longtime Pismo Beach City Attorney David Fleishman has resigned after 25 years with the city.
During the regular City Council meeting May 20, Fleishman confirmed he and his firm, Richards, Watson & Gerson, had submitted a letter resigning from the city attorney’s post, effective June 30.
“I did want to thank the council publicly for the opportunity to serve the community for the better part of 25 years ...” he said. “I really appreciate the opportunity, and I’ve learned a lot over that time.”
According to the letter provided to The Tribune, Fleishman’s resignation was submitted May 15 — the same day he was set to undergo a closed session performance evaluation.
During council comments at the April 1 meeting, Councilmember Marcia Guthrie asked for a separate closed session meeting to discuss the city attorney’s contract.
“I had a few items to discuss that I was concerned about,” she said during the meeting.
Ultimately, however, the council decided to wait for the May 15 performance evaluation instead to discuss Fleishman’s employment with the city.
When reached by The Tribune, Guthrie said she could not provide more details on what prompted her request beyond that she was requesting a contract and performance review.
Since 2023, Fleishman has also served as the city attorney for Atascadero. He is expected to continue in that position.
What happens next?
During the May 20 meeting, the council moved to have a closed session at an upcoming meeting to discuss hiring of an interim city attorney and the process for finding a long-term replacement.
“I’m sorry to say that we are doing this, though, because we are losing an excellent counsel,” Councilmember Stacy Inman said during discussion. “I’m sorry that we have to do this, but we must.”
In an email to The Tribune, Inman added that Fleishman’s departure meant the loss of a vast array of institutional city knowledge.
“Dave is a wealth of legal information and historical knowledge,” she wrote. “It will take many, many hours of legal fees to get any other attorney(s) up to speed on any matter.”
City Manager Jorge Garcia on Friday told The Tribune the city expected to release a request for proposals for city attorney services within the next week.
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