City Auditor Laura Doud has denied a whistleblower’s allegations of financial misappropriation, one month after a city-commissioned investigation found she failed to follow best financial practices.

Doud, in a letter to the Southern California News Group on Monday, April 4, denied all of the whistleblower’s allegations. She said she has been wrongfully accused, and that she would implement the best practices recommended by the investigation.

“I am writing this letter to assure the citizens of Long Beach and to reaffirm my commitment to serve with the utmost respect and honesty,” she said, “and to clarify issues regarding the integrity of my role as the elected Long Beach City Auditor.”

Doud is up for reelection this year.

Her letter broke a month-long silence after the city released a report by RSM US, a Chicago consulting firm that investigated the financial misappropriation allegations against Doud. Until this letter, she communicated through her lawyer, Kate Corrigan, who had also said Doud did not misappropriate any city funds.

In March, SCNG, along with other news outlets, obtained the report of the investigation into Doud, which concluded she failed to follow her own advice by awarding contracts to two political consulting firms worth around $2 million, over 15 years, that had vague language and disregarded city policies.

While the report did not say Doud misappropriated money, it did substantiate some of the whistleblower’s complaints that the city auditor used...

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