By Laura Swanson
Now, given my profession and how long I’ve been doing this, don’t do the math (over 40 years – most in this community) I’m usually unconcerned about the gossip and rumor mill. In fact, I don’t listen to that mis-information much at all. But when it does get back to me that a few individuals in a north county city consider me to be “persona non-grata” based upon legal action that’s been taken, and that perhaps it’s impacting my reputation and business, then, I think it’s time to come clean and divulge the real reason behind the pursuit of legal action, because I believe in transparency, honesty and the truth.
I’ve had many people ask me about the Manzanita lawsuit because of rumors and misinformation. I usually start out by explaining that the former mayor Deb Simmons and I are personal friends and I didn’t like how she was bullied out of town, investigated (she didn’t even know what exactly for) and then, she wasn’t even given a copy of the investigation. What!? That’s why I was a party to the lawsuit asking the courts to release the investigation. How can the person who was investigated not be told what she was being investigated for – she later learned it was for creating a hostile work environment – “improper conduct” (more on that later.) The report according to the courts and the lawyers is “protected” by client attorney privilege. What is in the report that the city doesn’t want revealed? It’s been suggested that the former mayor would be “embarrassed” by what the report contains – Simmons has asked for the report to be released. Because she resigned before the report was released, the city’s lawyer decided that since she was no longer on council she didn’t get a copy.
So the person who was investigated and hasn’t seen the report would like to have it released. There have been indications that releasing the report could lead to more lawsuits against the city, but the city would have saved all these attorney fees by simply releasing the report when requested …. Hmmm. The spin doctors would have you believe that the plaintiffs that brought the “frivolous” lawsuit were “responsible for costing the city thousands of dollars.” Oh wait – if the city had just released the report ….
But the city had already invested thousands of dollars in lawyers “investigating” the anonymous city employee’s complaint against the former mayor. Another factor besides the unfairness of how Deb Simmons was treated – bullied – in this situation because she was asking questions. We all should be asking LOTS of questions, let’s start with the “investigation.” Simmons gave the investigator 20 names, but only ONE of those people were interviewed. There were people mentioned dozens of time in the investigation, yet those individuals were not interviewed. What kind of investigation is this? My reporter senses were tingling big time.
There is nothing to prohibit the City from releasing the report produced by the investigator. Vague claims by the City that release of the report may trigger a lawsuit by someone involved with the investigation should details be released. The former mayor has always stated that she fully supports the release of the report and that all of the findings be released for public review. Are we to believe that Simmons wishes to be exposed for misconduct and then would attempt to sue the City for her misconduct? Are we to believe that individuals who were interviewed by the investigator and told what they saw and heard the Mayor do would sue the City if their identities were revealed for making truthful statements? How much did the city spend on the “investigation”?
The City doesn’t want that report to ever see the light of day, but that just leads to more questions, what else could they be hiding? Another main purpose of pursuing the report was to bring the attention of the citizenry to what’s going on in their town. Don’t believe what you read on social media from this side or that side, and believe me there are more than just “two sides” to every story. The lesson here is pay attention to how your tax dollars are being spent, who is making the decisions, and that goes for every community, county, state and our nation right now.
Pay attention, city government and elected officials, please serve your constituents in a transparent manner. I’d like to think that the “good ol’ boy” network ended decades ago, but we are seeing it play out before our eyes with the destruction of our democracy by billionaires, and our national government as we’ve known it disintegrating.
Focus local. Be sure that you hold our elected officials accountable. Be sure of your sources and your facts. And if you ever want to know “Why did the Pioneer do that?” You can just ask me – editor@tillamookcountypioneer.net. We abide by our tenets – the truth, fairness, and benefit to the community; we are also mindful and thoughtful about the stories we do. In the case of the “frivolous” Manzanita lawsuit, the burden of proof and transparency remains with the city and they continue to pay the price to cover up the costly choices that have been made – just raising more questions – Who or what are they protecting? And at what cost?
