Was lack of disclosure and/or working on Sparks vs Joachim while working for City of Eureka part of the reason for Curtis Davis' termination?

 

(Davis)

On June 9, I was the first to report that Curtis Davis was no longer employed by the City of Eureka as a Deputy City Attorney and was terminated. I got a brief response from Eureka City Manager Miles Slattery confirming June 6, 2025 was Mr. Davis' last day with the City of Eureka.

https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2025/06/curt-davis-is-no-longer-deputy-attorney.html?m=1

I briefly saw and spoke with Mr. Davis on June 9. He chose not to give me any official statement. On June 14, I ran into Mr. Davis at the "No Kings" protest where I took this photo and after speaking with him, I wrote that he was there as an individual and a civil rights lawyer for media and anyone else who may need his services. Mr. Davis thanked me for my previous post about him no longer being with the City of Eureka and that he got some job offers from my coverage.

Again, we briefly spoke and I told him, if he wished to make any statement about his abrupt departure; he could email me. Again, he opted not to and we had a brief chat about him speaking to other local media. During that conversation and another later, lengthier phone conversation I told Mr. Davis that he needs to file a lawsuit about any allegations and written evidence about other claims. I would not pursue any news otherwise. I did this despite knowing he was speaking with other local media. I also texted him about a statement and his choice to speak to other media when he asked me to keep the same stuff confidential. I ran into Mr. Davis on 4th of July and briefly spoke with him about a possible meeting but no specifics about any possible article.

I have kept Mr. Davis' confidence until I found out that it selectively applied to me. Other media can rush and report whatever they want "first" but I will not report vague or unverified claims.

It has come to my attention that Mr. Davis has been talking about stuff he asked me to keep confidential. I will not reveal my sources. If others he confided in also shared anything and that is part of talk around town; I have no confirmed knowledge of that; yet.

Mr. Davis does not get to selectively ask me to keep things confidential and then whisperings make the rounds all over town. Now, some of the concerns and red flags I had initially had have developed into mistrust of Mr. Davis. All reporters prefer exclusives and scoops. I was clear with Mr. Davis repeatedly about what I needed. I made a choice not to rush and post about anything he told me. His asking me to keep stuff confidential that is now circulating around town without vetting or verification is unfair and prevented me from pursuing my own research and investigation when I first found out he had been terminated.

If he wishes to comment on the content and topic of this post; he should email me or send me a written response. I will not engage in any verbal chat with Mr. Davis. 

Mr. Davis should also know that I have lived in Humboldt for 21 years. I know many of the people in our conversations personally and unlike other media, I can weigh the veracity of his claims with my own personal interactions, observations and interactions with those people. 

Mr. Davis says he reads my blog and says he is a fan of my work. 

I have sent a PRA to the City of Eureka and an email today to City of Eureka Assistant Manager and Clerk Pam Powell because I got a tip minutes before the Courthouse closed yesterday. I am not sure what the City of Eureka can release.

The tipster told me that Mr. Davis was representing a party in the Sparks vs Joachim case. I checked that court case. The part of the tip that Mr. Davis was representing Sparks in this tenant case before he was employed by the City of Eureka was confirmed by court records I checked yesterday. 

The part of the tip and claim that he continued to represent that client while he was employed by the City of Eureka cannot be confirmed yet because the only court minutes are from a March 2025 hearing and do not list Mr. Davis. There is a proof of service from April 2025 filing by Mr. Eric Kirk's office where Mr. Davis is listed but that does not verify he was still Spark's attorney. The last reference to Mr. Davis is in the July 19, 2024 court minutes which states "Diana Adjadj specially appearing on behalf of Curtis Davis via Zoom for Plaintiff."

I was told Mr. Davis subpoenaed someone from Eureka City Code Enforcement. My PRA and email to the City of Eureka asks for that subpoena, any correspondence from Mr. Davis to the City of Eureka regarding Sparks vs Joachim within the last 6 months. 

If this court case was part or the reason for Mr. Davis' termination is something that does need to be investigated.

I did not see such any subpoena filed in e court yesterday but not all documents are scanned or scanned timely and I had only a few minutes to look at the case before the Courthouse closed.

Mr. Davis says he believes in ethics, civil liberties and free speech so he should not have an issue with my pursuit for the truth and facts.

9:30 a.m.: I received the following response from the City of Eureka.

1.When did Curtis Davis start working for City of Eureka? January 16, 2025

 2. Was lack of disclosure and/or working on Sparks vs Joachim while working for City of Eureka part of the reason for Curtis Davis' termination? Mr. Davis no longer works for the City of Eureka and the City has no comment regarding his departure. 

 3. Can I get a copy of any subpoena sent to City of Eureka Code Enforcement from Curtis Davis and any other correspondence from Curtis Davis to City of Eureka in the last 6 months?

Per Ms. Powell, my PRA request has been forwarded to Ms. Christine Lopez. I received some initial documents at 11:08 a.m. 

The City of Eureka sent me some initial documents today which do confirm a City of Eureka Code Enforcement officer was subpoenaed. The three initial documents I received today and have added to the post are dated after Mr. Davis was terminated but it is the same case. It is upto Mr. Davis now to provide evidence that he was not working on this case while employed with the City of Eureka.

I saw Curt this afternoon at the Courthouse. He did not directly address me and there was a lot going on but from his demeanor and a remark he made to someone with him about me about the post I did, it is clear Curt isn't too "thrilled" with me or facts that support what the tipster told me. I won't use the title,"Mr" for someone who this morning went from saying, "Hello John" to calling me "the guy who did the post about me." There were more observations I made this afternoon while observing Curt at the Courthouse.

Curt, you had a month to provide me with a statement about your termination or evidence about your claims. You chose not to; I got a tip and I followed up. That is what reporters do. The tipster; unlike you provide concrete information which I could verify via court records.