ASSISTANT C.A. FIRED? RESIGNS?

spats Did First Assistant City Attorney ken dippel quit or didn’t he? City Attorney ANALESLIE MUNCY says he did. BILL DIPPEL, Ken’s son, says he didn’t. It all stems from another assistant city attorney’s mistake and Muncy’s reaction to the way the attorney handled that mistake.

“My dad didn’t resign,” says Bill Dippel, who’s determined to speak out in his father’s defense. Bill says the elder Dippel had been upset over the forced resignation of Paul pearce, whose miscalculation in a case cost the city $50,000. “Analeslie insisted that Paul be fired immediately,” says Bill. “My dad didn’t feel like a one-time deal like that warranted firing.” Bill says when his lather talked to Muncy about it. the discussion “escalated” to the “philosophical differences between them.” Bill says his father told Muncy “I’m not sure I can continue to work for you,” then left. He later sent a note to Muncy saying he was taking a week off, but would be back, By then, Muncy had announced that Dippel had resigned.

Muncy says the Dippel incident marked one of the worst weeks of her life. “Ken took Pearce’s forced resignation particularly hard. It was difficult for him to accept. But after he had taken some time to think about it, he came back. I’m happy about that.” Her problem with Pearce, she says, had less to do with the mistake itself than with his handling of its repercussions. “People make mistakes,” she says. “Sometimes it’s how you react to your mistakes that determines how you come out afterward.”

But some good may come of this. Pearce goofed, Ken Dip-pel said, because of insufficient staff support. In February, because of this incident, the City Council agreed to hire six paralegals.