Before accepting a promotion to the No. 2 position in the San Diego City Attorney’s Office and leaving on a four-month cruise around the world in late January, Jean Jordan planned to retire.
Instead, newly elected City Attorney Heather Ferbert agreed that Jordan would remain on the job and work at sea for the duration of her around-the-world cruise, the City Attorney’s Office said in a new statement.
The details of Executive Assistant City Attorney Jordan’s work status were shared in an announcement to staff in the wake of a report in The San Diego Union-Tribune that disclosed the arrangement earlier this week.
The Union-Tribune reported Sunday that Jordan left for a four-month global cruise in January after being named the top assistant in the City Attorney’s Office and did not inform her staff that she would be away.
Ferbert acknowledged she approved the remote work but cited confidentiality rules in declining to respond to more detailed questions. The announcement to staff said Jordan arranged the journey last year; at the time, she was planning to retire by the end of the year.
“We discussed her pre-scheduled trip in detail and Ms. Jordan has made every effort, at her own expense, to ensure her continued ability to complete the duties of her job and communicate with city staff and the attorneys she supervises,” it said.
The City Attorney’s Office forwarded a copy of the staff memo to the Union-Tribune but declined to respond to follow-up questions, including ones about what prompted the announcement and how long Jordan might remain at work.
“There’s nothing else to add,” spokesperson Ibrahim Ahmed said by email.
Jordan, 65, who is due back in San Diego late next month, did not immediately respond to questions raised by the staff memo.
Ferbert’s announcement called Jordan an important asset to the office and critical to ensuring a smooth transition from former City Attorney Mara Elliott.
“During my first weeks in office, Ms. Jordan offered to stay on with the office and it became clear to me and others within the leadership team that her continued service to the city was greatly needed for continuity during the transition,” Ferbert told her staff.
“At that time, I discussed the executive assistant city attorney position with Ms. Jordan and she expressed her willingness to delay her retirement and continue working for the office in that capacity,” she added.
Ferbert has worked in the City Attorney’s Office for years and served as a chief deputy to Elliott before she defeated state Assemblymember Brian Maienschein for the four-year term in November.
Soon after being elected, Ferbert reorganized the City Attorney’s Office to create the executive assistant city attorney position. She also recreated the chief of staff role, a position that had been vacated under Elliott.
She told her staff of almost 425 people that all employees are eligible to apply for remote work under a city policy that was already in place when she assumed office.
Ferbert said Jordan agreed to the promotion but rejected a raise. “Given the circumstances and timing, Ms. Jordan declined to accept any increase in her salary,” the city attorney said.
As executive assistant, Jordan supervises three other assistant city attorneys. She is paid just over $282,000 a year, almost $40,000 a year more than Ferbert makes, the office said.
In her memo to staff, Ferbert said she has been “in constant ” with Jordan since taking office. Jordan generally works more than a 40-hour schedule each week and uses accrued vacation on any weekdays she does not work, she said.
“She takes calls at all hours of the day,” Ferbert said. “I have seen and reviewed her work product and discussed cases and legal matters with her, and I have every confidence she is completing her work well above the expectations set for all attorneys in this office.”
