Over the past week, the public has had a front-row seat in viewing the culmination of years worth of concerns and complaints from employees who have been subjected to the unprofessional behavior of an elected official. It has been tough for the county, but more importantly it has been tough for the employees.
These employees aren’t “snowflakes” or “crybabies” as some have described in social media comments. These employees work(ed) hard for the county; they work(ed) hard for you. You see, these are your employees. And your employees endured situations that were unacceptable. And when each felt they had had enough, that they had reached their limit of tolerance for such behavior, your employees came forward and reported their experiences through the proper channels.
Those channels lead to a third-party investigation conducted with professionalism, dignity and with the understanding that the names of those who came forward would remain confidential; that the investigation and results would remain internal, as would any personnel investigation. None of the employees who came forward imagined their positions and possibly their names would be made public or their experiences put out for judgement in the court of public opinion. But perhaps that was the very reason one commissioner decided to give information to a reporter about an investigation into employee allegations against him – to further intimidate those employees or anyone else who might speak out; to start a narrative that would attempt to paint those employees – your employees – in a negative light.
One of the most frustrating comments I’ve heard regarding all of this actually happened during public comment at our board meeting earlier this week when an individual addressed the board stating (incorrectly) that a judge had ruled there was no hostile work environment and continued with “but you just couldn’t leave it alone, could you?”
Here is my response to that individual and to anyone else asking the same question: no, we could not just leave it alone. If we had turned our backs on these employees, if we had ignored the problems they were reporting, our actions would be no better than the actions of the commissioner whose actions instigated the report in the first place.
Imagine if the situations documented in the report happened to your wife or to your sister. Even worse, image those situations happening to your daughter. Would you tell her to “just leave it alone”? Would you call her a “crybaby” or the now-popular buzzword “snowflake”? Or would you be outraged that someone in a position of power treated her in such a demeaning way?
It’s been said that perception is reality. That’s wrong. Perception can be manipulated and molded to fit a pre-determined narrative. Fact is reality. And the facts are this: the county is not in chaos (four commissioners continue to work together in a professional and productive manner; our employees continue to work hard for the public); the county is not an embarrassment (although the actions of one commissioner are); and the women who came forward to report unacceptable behavior did so fearing retaliation but decided not to succumb to that fear. And for that we are proud of those employees – your employees.
It wasn’t the choice of the Board, nor any of the employees, to have this investigation occur in such a public way. That decision was made solely by Commissioner Conway, who was being investigated. But perhaps it’s for the best. Perhaps it will help the public understand the situations, the decisions, and the importance for standing up for yourself and for others. The high road is rocky but it’s always worth it.
Julie Cozad, Chair, Weld County Board of Commissioners
