Paso Robles can’t take yes for an answer

September 8, 2025

By KAREN VELIE

Following nearly a year of mudslinging, Paso Robles taxpayers were in line to pay $277,000 to settle a records request lawsuit filed by the SLO Tribune, but city representatives did not sign the already negotiated agreement last week which could lead to an increase in legal fees.

The Tribune began filing multiple records requests in Oct. 2024, after learning former Paso Robles City Manager Ty Lewis had filed a claim alleging a conspiracy against him. Lewis said that Councilman Chris Bausch and others, including a CalCoastNews reporter, had conspired against him.

Over the next four months, Tribune reporters sent Bausch 19 records requests. On Jan. 24, Bausch began providing records.

On March 10, the Tribune filed a lawsuit against Bausch contending he should have immediately complied with its reporter’s public records requests. The lawsuit also claimed the city had failed to turn over some documents.

During a case management conference on April 9, Bausch said he was working to collect the records, noting there were more than 700 searches he needed to complete to comply with the requests for thousands of pages of documents. In addition to the Tribune’s 19 requests, several supporters of Lewis had also bombarded Bausch with requests.

On April 18, Bausch filed a cross complaint against both the Tribune and the City of Paso Robles seeking “indemnification, apportionment of fault and declaratory relief.” The city fired back on April 21 with a cross complaint that argued Bausch had failed to comply with the Public Records Act.

In explaining his delay in turning over the records, Bausch told the court two attorneys provided by the city’s insurance company initially wanted to preserve records until a settlement was reached with Lewis.

Bausch attempted on May 9 to provide the records to the Tribune, but the city wanted to examine the records first. Superior Court Judge Michael Kelley ordered him to give the records to the city attorney, who later provided a redacted copy to the Tribune.

More than two weeks ago, the Tribune proposed a settlement, and the parties negotiated terms. While the Tribune’s attorney initially sought $950,000 in fees, he agreed to lower his bill to $250,000 to settle the issue, according to an inside source.

Conditions of the settlement agreement:

• The City of Paso Robles will provide an unredacted copy of the executive summary of the investigation report into Lewis’ allegation of a hostile work environment to the Tribune three days before dispersing the document to others.
• The City of Paso Robles will pay $250,000 to the Tribune’s attorney.
• The City of Paso Robles will pay Bausch $27,000 for reimbursement of attorney fees that occurred after the city stopped paying for his attorney.
• None of the parties can seek additional fees after the agreement is signed.
• The Tribune, Bausch and the City of Paso Robles agree to dismiss all actions.

While both Tribune Editor Joe Tarica and Councilman Bausch signed the agreement last week, the city’s representatives did not.

On Saturday morning, the Paso Robles City Council met in a special closed session for nearly two hours to discuss the lawsuits between the city, the Tribune and Bausch. At the end of the meeting, City Attorney Elizabeth Hull announced no reportable action had been taken.

The parties are scheduled for a hearing on the merits of the Tribune’s lawsuit and liability for costs on Jan. 13, 2026.

For those who need to catch up, former City Manager Lewis filed a claim on Aug. 16, 2024 seeking $2.275 million from the City of Paso Robles for harassment and allowing a hostile work environment.

After initially supporting the claim, the Paso Robles City Council sent it to its insurance carrier, which denied Lewis’ claim on Sept. 26, 2024.

In Oct. 2024, Lewis revised his claim to include allegations of harassment and a conspiracy against him. A couple running a local cannabis business, Grace and Ernest Hall, were Lewis’ witnesses that Bausch and a CalCoastNews reporter had hosted meetings in an attempt to disparage Lewis.

Lewis stepped down on Jan. 26 with a settlement agreement, less than three days after his primary witness – Grace Hall – refuted his claim of a conspiracy against him on a local radio show.

The city denied that it or Bausch had any fault or liability. However, in order to “buy its peace,” the city wished to resolve all allegations, according to Lewis’ settlement agreement. Lewis also agreed that neither the city nor Bausch had any liability, according to the Lewis’ agreement.

However, in his agreement, Lewis claimed a preexisting mental health issue from his time as a law enforcement officer with the city.

Lewis said he was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from his time in law enforcement that was exacerbated on May 7, during a Paso Robles City Council meeting in which the council decided to cancel the paid parking program Lewis had championed.

In exchange for the promises and releases made in the Lewis agreement, the city paid Lewis $365,954 with $200,000 as a settlement payment.

After filing its lawsuit, Tribune reporters and its editorial staff accused Bausch of being a bully, of stonewalling, and attempting to hide records. “Someone needs to stand up to bullies. That’s why The Tribune is suing Chris Bausch,” the Tribune titled an article announcing the lawsuit.

“This is not a “gotcha” move,” Tribune editorial staff wrote. “We would prefer not to spend our time in a courtroom — it takes time away from reporting the news — but we are convinced that the public is best served when officials conduct their business out in the open, rather than via secret texts or emails.”

After reviewing the thousands of emails and text messages that Bausch provided, Tribune reporters admitted in June that there was no smoking gun. Instead of revealing a conspiracy to oust Lewis from office, the records showed a group of citizens primarily discussing politics and the city’s controversial paid parking program.

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