Why Should Delaware Care?
Dover City Council’s decision to fire City Manager Dave Hugg earlier this spring revealed messy disagreements between city officials. Now, Hugg’s decision to file a discrimination complaint could add costly layers of litigation to the saga in a city that is already stretched thin financially.
Former Dover City Manager Dave Hugg filed an age-based employment discrimination complaint against the city this spring in the midst of his contentious removal from the city’s top administrative position, marking his first step toward suing over his firing.
Hugg, 83, submitted the complaint to both the state Department of Labor’s office of anti-discrimination and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a city official with knowledge of the situation told Spotlight Delaware.
Once investigators conclude their inquiry into Hugg’s complaint, the former city manager will then be required to file a lawsuit against the city – regardless of whether investigators uphold his complaint.
Hugg originally accused Delaware’s capital city in mid-March of discrimination and wrongfully placing him on administrative leave under both state law – the Discrimination in Employment Act – and the federal Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Daily State News first reported on June 2.
He then amended the complaint to wrongful termination based on age-based discrimination following a public hearing and subsequent vote by the Dover City Council to remove him in mid-April, the city official said.
Hugg and his attorney, Anthony Delcollo, did not respond to Spotlight Delaware’s request for comment.
Hugg’s complaint, and the lawsuit that will follow, could represent yet another costly hurdle for the city of Dover, which recently had to raise property taxes to close a $7 million budget shortfall heading into the 2027 fiscal year.
The city has faced one controversy after another over the past year, including an attempt by the Dover Police Department to oust its chief, continued acrimony among city council members over a panhandling ordinance, and attempts to shut down one of the city’s few homeless shelters.
Dover City Attorney Dan Griffith confirmed the municipality had received the EEOC complaint.
He also said the city hired Keri Morris-Johnston, an attorney with the law firm Marshall Dennehey, to represent the city against Hugg’s complaint. Morris-Johnston declined Spotlight Delaware’s request for comment.
Hugg and Delcollo did not explicitly mention the EEOC complaint during the mid-April public hearing in which Hugg was formally fired.
However, during his testimony before the city council, Hugg suggested his age was the reason city council members wanted him gone.
“In writing, they really had no firm reasons, but it was very clear that they wanted me out,” Hugg said. “And the only thing I could think of was, ‘Dave, you’re old. It’s time for you to go.’”
How did we get here?
Spotlight Delaware first reported the Dover City Council unanimously voted to place Hugg on leave in mid-March as a first step toward firing him.
Hugg, who spent 14 years as Smyrna’s town manager before coming to the city of Dover to work in the planning department in 2017, had been serving as the city manager since 2022.
The Dover City Charter requires the city manager to be given a public hearing, if they desire, and a written statement of reasons for their removal before city council can take a final vote on firing them.
Hugg accepted the option of a public hearing – the first time the city had held one of its kind, city leaders said at the time.
At the April 14 meeting, Delcollo, Hugg’s attorney, conducted an hours-long, trial-like presentation to make the case that the former city manager should keep the job.
Delcollo’s primary argument for Hugg to remain city manager included that the letter city council members wrote explaining the reasons for his removal lacked specific details or concrete evidence of the errors they alleged Hugg had committed.
He also tried to refute claims that Hugg had fostered a hostile work environment. He brought up a number of witnesses to testify to the former city manager’s character, including Mayor Robin Christiansen, state Rep. Bill Bush (D-Dover) and Kent County Levy Court President Joanne Masten.
Hugg said during the hearing he was called into a meeting in early February with City Council President Fred Neil, and Council Members Andre Boggerty and Gerald Rocha, in which they told him he could either retire, resign, or be fired.
“It’s pretty obvious to me that there was an effort being made to push me out the door, get me to leave and claim it was my decision,” he said.
City council members largely did not react to Delcollo and Hugg’s argument laid during the hearing, but ultimately voted to fire Hugg.
One exception was Neil, who said before casting his vote to fire Hugg that Neil himself is 92, so “age was not a factor.”
City leaders react
When asked about their reaction to Hugg’s discrimination complaint, city council members stood by their decision to fire the former city manager.
Christiansen, however, said he has concerns about the city council’s handling of the situation, and the “financial repercussions” for the city.
Councilman David Anderson said the city handled Hugg’s removal in the best way possible under the circumstances.
“My only reaction is that I think it’s unfortunate, and I think the city’s position will prevail,” he added.
Councilwoman Julia Pillsbury similarly said she believes it was time for Hugg to step down from the position, and “the time had come” for Assistant City Manager Sharon Duca – now the acting city manager – to take over.
Pillsbury added that Hugg accused her, specifically, of age-based discrimination when she told him in the past that Duca should take over as city manager. But she said her criticism of Hugg was purely about making way for another qualified candidate, and not a reflection of his age.
Duca has been serving as the acting city manager since Hugg was first placed on leave in March. The city posted a job listing for the city manager position on its website in April, but has since taken the posting down.
Christiansen, who testified on Hugg’s behalf during his public hearing, told Spotlight Delaware that city council members should have done a better job of discussing their concerns constructively with Hugg, instead of moving to a public hearing and removing him so quickly.
“I have great concerns about the liability that the city’s going to have in this matter,” Christiansen said. “Our budget is not in the greatest shape that it should be, so I think there was perhaps another way to handle this.”
Maggie Reynolds is a Report for America corps member and Spotlight Delaware reporter who covers rural communities in Delaware. Your donation to match our Report for America grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://spotlightdelaware.org/support/.
