Blue Lake Finance Manager Claims Wrongful Termination, Whistleblower Retaliation

Danielle "Dani" Burkhart, who spent a tumultuous six months working for the City of Blue Lake, has submitted claims for damages against the city over a number of alleged labor code violations, including whistleblower retaliation, improper demotion, and unlawful termination.

Burkhart was hired in February 2025 to be the city's finance manager but soon thereafter got appointed acting city manager following the abrupt departure of Amanda "Mandy" Mager. Burkhart's claim letter says Mager was fired by the newly elected city council; the council itself has described the decision as mutual.

The claim letter, submitted by L.A.-based attorney Bryan J. Lazarski, says that as acting city manager, Burkhart's top priority was to bring the city into compliance with state housing law by submitting a long-overdue updated housing element with state housing authorities. It goes on to allege that Mayor John Sawatzky and other councilmembers routinely violated the city code's "division of powers" provisions by giving orders directly to employees, rather than going through the city manager, and by ordering Burkhart herself around outside the confines of city council meetings.

Last July, Burkhart submitted a memorandum to the City Council raising serious concerns about certain councilmembers' "unprofessional" conduct. Meanwhile, she was being made to work 60-plus hours per week, with no days off, in violation of state labor laws, the letter says.

The claim further alleges that the council broke California's open meetings law, the Ralph M. Brown Act, when it hired Jill Duffy to replace Burkhart as interim city manager, and that when Burkhart sought to lighten her workload by resigning from the additional city clerk duties she had been assigned, Duffy retaliated by accusing Burkhart of insubordination, disrespectful behavior, and going AWOL.

Lazarski's letter pushes back sharply on those accusations. "No specific examples of any of these things were provided, and it appears to be nothing more than … pretext and retaliation," the attorney's letter states.

Burkhart, who was just hired by the city in February 2025, previously worked as an accounting specialist with the City of Eureka. A former cannabis industry activist and one-time vice treasurer of the Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee, she ran for Humboldt County supervisor in 2018.

Burkhart is seeking financial damages in excess of $10,000 and plans to sue in Humboldt County Superior Court if the city fails to act within 45 days of the notice. Current Blue Lake City Manager Jennie Short is recommending that the city council reject the claims. The matter was placed on the consent calendar for Tuesday's City Council meeting.

Despite the city's characterization of Mager's departure as the result of a mutual decision, some Blue Lake residents have been convinced that a council majority forced her out, and they launched a recall effort against Sawatzky, Mayor Pro Tem Elise Scafani, and Councilmember Kat Napier. Burkhart's claims add a new legal dimension to a civic dispute that has fractured Blue Lake for nearly a year.

The city has not issued a public statement responding to the specific allegations in the claim. Councilmembers Napier, Lewis-Lusso, and Scafani had not been reached for comment at the time of publication.