One bad apple can spoil the whole barrel, so the saying goes.
The Senior Coordinator made a wrong decision which placed seniors at risk, and then tried to cover it up with dishonesty. This misconduct was brought to the attention of the Senior Coordinator's manager (the Recreation Manager) during a meeting at City Hall on March 16th. At this meeting, copies of my email about the episode of spitting, and the Senior Coordinator's response pretending that the concern was about the state of the drinking fountain were presented, and the dishonesty pointed out to her. An effective and compassionate manager would have realized that the Senior Coordinator was having difficulties and needed help, and would have stepped in to correct the initial errors, and then provided support and counselling of an appropriate nature to the employee, or a transfer to more appropriate work.
But once this manager made the decision not to step in and correct this obviously failing employee, the die was cast. The City found itself placed in the uncomfortable position of trying to defend a documented series of dishonest actions, and now it was more than just the Senior Coordinator in the firing line, it was the Recreation Manager too. So the stakes had been raised. Then the City Attorney had to figure out a way to defend this indefensible state of affairs, and became implicated herself in the whole sordid business. Eventually even the integrity of the councillors themselves was compromised in order to try to keep the lid on the situation.
It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. At any point, someone with integrity and a bit of courage could have stood up and said, 'Stop!', but there was nobody around with those qualities, it seems.
Fortunately for us, we live in a democratic country, and so there are opportunities for problems like this to be brought into the light of day. The Deputy Mayor, Jac Siegel, is up for re-election this year, and you may recall reading that I sent a personal letter and individual copy of my complaint to him as a courtesy because I knew that a member of his family would be exposed to danger at the Senior Center. So, at any meeting where he speaks in support of his candidacy, anyone can ask him the simple question, 'Did you receive a letter of complaint about misconduct by city employees, dated February 16?'
If you don't plan to attend one of these meetings in person, this website has his email address for you to put that question. His answer, and his account of the action he took in response to the complaint, should be your guide as to which way you should cast your vote at the upcoming election.
Meanwhile, back to the story. Up to this point it was I who had been making all the moves. Since the initial attack I had continued to protest the ongoing clear and present danger which threatened everyone's safety at the Senior Center, and I had explicitly documented and exposed every mis-step by the management at the Center, and at City Hall.
Now the city administration started to become proactive in this matter. But not in the way that a decent, honest and upstanding administration should have done.
Instead, they began a sustained campaign of victimization and harassment of my wife and me, in retaliation for our having had the temerity to raise questions about their actions in placing seniors at risk.