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Former East Bay Parks general manager Sabrina Landreth filed a tort claim against the district this week with a slew of allegations including gender-based discrimination, harassment and retaliatory conduct by board directors.
The legal maneuver, often a precursor to a lawsuit, follows Landreth’s abrupt departure from the East Bay Regional Park District last November — two days after the Board of Directors conducted her performance evaluation in closed session. She later publicly contended that the board “constructively terminated” her by asking her to violate the law and harm her reputation.
In the bombshell tort claim submitted Wednesday (Feb. 11), Landreth alleges she suffered gender-based discrimination and harassment by directors including Colin Coffey and Dennis Waespi. She also argues she faced retaliation from multiple directors after taking corrective action regarding complaints from female staff about Coffey and Waespi as well as refusing to take part in unlawful conduct.
“The course of retaliatory conduct was intentionally designed to create working conditions that were so intolerable that a reasonable person in Claimant’s position had no reasonable alternative except to resign,” her attorney P. Bobby Shukla wrote in the filing.
The accused directors have offered a range of responses to the Pleasanton Weekly, from “no comment” during ongoing litigation to outright denial.
“I have always had a cordial and professional relationship with Ms. Landreth, whom I have held in high regard,” Coffey said in a statement. “Nothing in the government claim attributed to me is true. I am especially appalled at the suggestion that I was ever subject to a meritorious or credible gender bias claim.”
“I believe what is happening is that Ms. Landreth, now an obviously disgruntled former employee, is seeking to monetize what is otherwise an uncompensated voluntary resignation. To do so she is grasping at the proverbial straws,” Coffey added.
As for the agency itself, EBRPD representatives told the Weekly, “The East Bay Regional Park District takes all claims of harassment and discrimination seriously. Having a workplace free of harassment and discrimination is of paramount importance.”
“We do not comment on pending litigation, as that must get addressed through the legal system,” they added.
Landreth began serving as the organization’s general manager in 2021, becoming the first female general manager in the history of the district that touts itself as the largest regional park system in the nation.
Previously, Landreth had worked for decades in leadership roles within public agencies, including city administrator in Oakland and city manager in Emeryville.
“Ms. Landreth is a respected public servant. That is why she was initially hired by EBRPD: to clean up the mess created by decades of EBRPD mismanagement,” her spokesperson, Sam Singer, said in a statement. “Yet, when she started to act in the best interests of taxpayers and the public, the board’s elected officials started to belittle her, openly dismiss her and attempt to bully her, so they could continue their brazen behavior and corrupted practices.”
According to the claim, Landreth received complaints between December 2024 and January 2025 from female staff alleging that Coffey and Waespi had harassed and bullied them in verbal and written communication as well as shown favoritism toward male employees.
Landreth said she reviewed supporting evidence and decided to hold workplace training on anti-harassment, micro-aggression and anti-bullying as a corrective and preventive measure. She alerted the board of the complaints during January 2025 and held a training session two months later with an outside attorney, according to the claim.
“From that point forward Directors Coffey and Waespi — as well as other board members they recruited to do the same, such as then Board President John Mercurio, and Directors (Olivia) Sanwong and (Lynda) Deschambault — began a course of retaliatory conduct,” the claim states.
The legal filing includes a list of alleged retaliatory behavior by directors such as refusing to communicate with Landreth directly or attend one-on-one meetings; ignoring her emails; removing Landreth from internal staff emails; making false claims about Landreth’s performance; skipping site visits, briefings or programs arranged by Landreth; treating her with “open hostility” during public and closed sessions, such as calling her a liar as well as laughing when she spoke.
The process of her performance review was “designed to manufacture false allegations of bad performance, to undermine her accomplishments at the District and her professional experience”, according to the claim.
Upon expressing her concern to the board and the district’s human resources department about the biased nature of the performance evaluations, no action was taken, the claim states.
Landreth further alleges that her refusal to engage in unlawful conduct under pressure from board members also spurred their retaliatory behavior.
The claim cites alleged wrongdoing such as awarding “large lobbyist contracts to consultants of a board member’s choosing”; violating the Brown Act by conducting closed sessions regarding land acquisition; continuing to misuse public taxpayer dollars, including alcohol purchases for district events; nepotism regarding placement of family members in EBRPD programs such as the on-call firefighter program; providing gifts to public officials, such as helicopter ride-alongs; and defaming Landreth through false allegations about her and/or her work performance.
Another allegation asserted public resources were used in the Tri-Valley to support a board member’s reelection campaign, without providing specifics.
Also of particular relevance to the Tri-Valley part of the district, Landreth claims that Coffey admitted to conducting a “highly sophisticated” campaign to “take advantage of Director Sanwong’s mental health issues”.
“Any suggestion I have ‘mental health issues’ impacting my ability to serve is inaccurate,” Sanwong, whose area includes Pleasanton, Livermore and Dublin, told the Weekly. “I have never been diagnosed with any condition affecting my service, and I remain fully capable and dedicated to my role as an elected Director.”
In a third list of alleged incidents — this time over gender-based discrimination and harassment — Landreth is said to have been paid less than her male predecessor.
Coffey and Waespi also allegedly told Landreth that she was not being “aggressive” enough or “crushing” like her male predecessor, Robert Doyle.
Additionally, Waespi allegedly praised the district’s “macho men”, told Landreth that “the boys” would have done the right thing and that “Only women should be gardeners”. He raised his voice at Landreth and invaded her personal space while “puffing his chest when she refused to award lobbying contracts to his desired consultant”, according to the claim.
Gender-based stereotypes allegedly arose in her performance evaluation process as well, with directors saying that Landreth was emotional and overreactive under pressure without evidence. Upon voicing her concern over the process, she was silenced for “dominating the conversation”, the claim states.
“No individual — and other woman — should be subjected to the existing discriminatory culture at EBRPD,” Singer said.
“The corrupted practices, discrimination, bias, and brazen, outrageous actions by EBRPD electeds is too normalized at the parks district,” Singer added “The directors are breaching their fiduciary duties and their duty of trust to the public and taxpayers.”
Among those counting themselves surprised at Landreth’s claim is Coffey, who denied all allegations against him.
Coffey said his evaluation of Landreth was grounded and documented with her successes and failings, not gender bias. Additionally, the evaluation was conducted under a professional facilitator with advice from legal counsel specializing in human resources.
Waespi expressed a similar shock regarding Landreth’s tort claim.
“I’m surprised by the allegations that she’s made against the district and some of my colleagues and myself,” Waespi told the Pleasanton Weekly. “I deny any of the accusations of gender bias and retaliation, and being that it’s an act of legal matter, I really can’t comment on specific allegations at this time.”
Mercurio, whose representative area includes the San Ramon Valley, confirmed that he is not supposed to comment on matters of litigation.
Sanwong echoed the sentiment of being unable to comment on specific allegations. But she added, “I do dispute the characterization of my conduct.”
Landreth, whose final day employed by the district was technically Feb. 6 as she took paid time off after her last day in the office Nov. 6, seeks unspecified financial damages and other legal remedies through the claim.
Ex-GM Landreth alleges discrimination, corruption by East Bay Parks board in bombshell tort claimFebruary 13, 2026 9:29 pm