Almost two years after voters approved Measure L, the city of Riverside has appointed its first inspector general.
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“This is very unique, the first of its kind, and I’m actually very glad that Riverside is paving the way,” Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes, who served on the subcommittee tasked with establishing the office’s parameters, said during the October 6 meeting. “I do believe we went as fast as we could to make sure we could bring something back that is strong and that could fulfill what was the wish and the will of the voters.”
The Riverside City Council Thursday unanimously approved the employment of Lori K. M. Cox, a longtime internal auditor who is set to take on the role October 19 with an annual base salary of $219,000 and reporting directly to the mayor and council.
She will be tasked with several duties, according to the job posting on the city’s website, like conducting complex internal investigations, reviewing citizen complaints and preparing recommendations for potential city council action.
The council approved the hire after a seven-month search. A total of 25 candidates applied to the role, according to the city, with 10 participating in an initial interview. The list was whittled down to two finalists, which the city council interviewed in back-to-back closed session meetings in July.
A brochure for the position said the city was looking for candidates with at least eight years of legal, criminal or investigative management experience.
“This comes after a very, very long and exhaustive search for the right candidate for this position,” Councilmember Steven Robillard, who headed the subcommittee tasked with establishing the office’s parameters, said during the meeting. “We had a lot of great candidates who applied for this position, [and] it was actually a very competitive field.”
Cox was previously a chief internal auditor at Dallas College, a chief auditor for the city of Tempe, Arizona, an administrative officer for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona and a director of internal audit for Pima Community College. She also earned a master’s degree from Grand Canyon University, a bachelor’s from the University of Arizona and several audit-related certifications, according to the city.
This approval was the last step in a process that began almost two years ago when voters approved Measure L, which amended the city’s charter to create the Office of the Inspector General.
Last November, the council voted 6-1 to officially create the office, with Councilmember Philip Falcone casting the sole dissenting vote. He previously told The Riverside Record that it was a symbolic move since he had authored the ballot argument against the measure.
Robillard said at a March 3 meeting that the process had taken so long because of the council’s efforts into outlining the role and candidate criteria.
“It wasn’t just about hiring someone to be the [inspector general], it was about creating an entire office and the infrastructure in the office,” Councilmember Sean Mill said during Tuesday’s meeting. “They literally created the office from scratch, [and] we had to figure out the budget [and] all those things.”
The idea for the position was first considered in 2018 by the Charter Review Committee. In 2022, the Riverside City Council received a finalized recommendation and voted 4-3 to have the measure added to the 2024 ballot.
Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes and former Councilmembers Jim Perry and Gaby Plascencia voted against that motion.
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