ABSTRACT: During Public Appearances at the 3 August 2010 City Council meeting, resident Carolyn Hardy addressed the public on the subject of sexual harassment at City Hall and Jane Miller’s lawsuit. Hardy’s remarks are transcribed. A COMMENT is made.
CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING
CITY OF CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
City Hall
East side of Monte Verde Street between Ocean and Seventh Avenues
VI. Public Appearances
Anyone wishing to address the City Council on matters within the jurisdiction of the City that are not on today’s agenda may do so now. Matters not appearing on the City Council’s agenda will not receive action at this meeting but may be referred to staff for a future meeting. Presentations will be limited to three (3) minutes, or as otherwise established by the City Council. Persons are not required to give their names, but it is helpful for speakers to state their names in order that the City Clerk may identify them in the minutes of the meeting. Always speak into the microphone, as the meeting is recorded. The City Council Chamber is equipped with a portable microphone for anyone unable to come to the podium. If you need assistance, please advise City Clerk Heidi Burch as to which item you wish to comment on and the microphone will be brought to you.
“Carolyn Hardy. I am conveying thoughts here on behalf of myself and my husband. The huge turnout at Jason’s town hall meeting yesterday evidenced the depth and breath of concern, frustration, and anger over the circumstances revealed in Jane Miller’s sexual harassment lawsuit. But just because the lawsuit has been settled does not mean the problems have gone away, the liability still remains. And I regret deeply that I feel compelled to say this, but our small town has experienced enough shame over this. It is time to make a change at City Hall. The damage done is not just monetary; our damages include loss of employee morale and loss of a safe work environment that’s free from harassment, intimidation and retaliation. It is time for Rich Guillen to leave either by departure or removal. Without a clean start this community and City Hall cannot forget and cannot heal.”
“I too have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, in the 70s when there were no policies to prohibit it and no remedies to correct it. It is insidious, it affects your work and your work relationships, it is not something you can wave off. You endure it to keep your job or you leave to escape it.”
“I am incensed that our local newspaper would imply that determination of whether sexual harassment occurred depended on the victim’s response. That is in the same vein as implying a rape victim may have enjoyed the experience. The paper’s editor attempts to turn the victim into a villain.”
“During a recent election forum two council members said that if either knew of sexual harassment in the workplace neither would tolerate it. Well, because of the documents from Miller’s lawsuit we have concrete evidence that sexual harassment flourished. Most telling were the documents that surfaced in response to the city’s attempt to disqualify the plaintiff’s attorney. We now have a clearer picture of what has been going on at City Hall and the evidence revealed in emails from Rich to Jane Miller contradicted all the denials and likely led to the settlement. It is incumbent upon the City Council to restore integrity and dignity to City Hall by removing the offender whose actions have brought dishonor to Carmel.”
(Archived Videos, August 03, 2010, 29:05 - 31:50)
COMMENT:
• Carolyn Hardy’s comments are articulate and courageous. She is absolutely correct in her comments that “The paper’s editor attempts to turn the victim into a villain,” “It is time for Rich Guillen to leave either by departure or removal. Without a clean start this community and City Hall cannot forget and cannot heal” and “It is incumbent upon the City Council to restore integrity and dignity to City Hall by removing the offender whose actions have brought dishonor to Carmel.”
3 comments:
Well, well we all now know our village is rotten to the core. The media blacked out this story for years and years and only lately have reluctantly covered it when they could no longer ignore Jane Miller's very public lawsuit. So, the mayor and council refuse to accept responsibility and admit wrongdoing. The city manager is still on the job. How are we going to clean up this rotten mess, pronto?
After Carolyn completed her comments, there was resounding applause from the audience in chambers. She definitely hit the mark and people present responded. Sad to say, council members just sat there and the mayor went on her harague about others lining up to speak or the council would move onto the next agenda item. Sue really cannot take criticism, can she, especially when she deserves it?
Do Carmelite have the resolve to write up a petition for a recall of the mayor and city council members Paula Hazdovac, Ken Talmage and Karen Sharp? Let’s join with Carmel resident Joyce Stevens and get a recall petition going. It is the only way to restore our village’s good name and make Carmel whole again and erase the anger and humiliation as Joyce Stevens wrote in The Herald today.
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