PORT TOWNSEND — A former Port Townsend mayor has filed a complaint against City Manager John Mauro alleging a pattern of abusive behavior against city employees and residents.
“It can no longer be ignored or swept under the rug that the City Manager conducts himself with employees, public officials and members of the public in a manner that violates the City’s personnel policies regarding personal conduct and demeanor and prevention of a hostile work environment,” wrote Brent Shirley, mayor of Port Townsend between 1981-1993.
The May 6 letter to the city council alleges that several city employees have left their jobs in response to Mauro’s behavior and fear professional retaliation for speaking out.
“This behavior is expressed in subtle and overt ways, expressed in snide remarks, physical expressions, passive aggressive statements to overt angry outburst filled with personal insults,” Shirley’s letter said.
In an email, Port Townsend Mayor David Faber said he contacted the city’s human resources and legal departments and then stepped back so an independent investigation process could proceed.
“My understanding is that the assigned independent hearings examiner contacted Mr. Shirley seeking more information and to provide him the opportunity to substantiate his claims, but that Mr. Shirley declined to provide any further information or to otherwise proceed,” Faber said.
In an email, Port Townsend’s hearing examiner, Phil Olbrechts, said because Shirley’s letter called for an investigation and did not make a formal ethics complaint, it was outside the examiner’s jurisdiction.
Shirley said in an interview he had been in contact with the city’s attorney about pursuing an independent investigation at the city’s expense.
“What I’m going to ask for is an independent investigator,” Shirley said. “People are afraid to say anything, including me. I feel intimidated I don’t have a need for it.”
Shirley said he plans to consult with the city’s attorney regarding the matter in the coming weeks.
Port Townsend’s acting city attorney, Alexandra Kenyon of Kenyon Disend, PLLC, did not immediately respond to request for comment.
There are avenues for employees to file complaints anonymously, but Shirley said the past and current city employees he’s been in contact with are concerned the specificity of the alleged incidents would reveal their identity.
Shirley claims 10 employees have left the city due to Mauro’s behavior.
Mauro, hired in 2019, has generally received positive feedback from members of the city council, although some members did express concerns in a 2022 performance review.
“John has a temper, and can sometimes ‘snap’ when stressed. Learning to better ‘give himself a timeout’ may help him manage that better,” Council member Libby Urner Wennstrom wrote in her evaluation. “John protects his people, sometimes to a fault, and can sometimes ‘circle the wagons’ rather than digging in to address an issue properly and move forward.”
But several months after those evaluations were written, the city council unanimously voted to give Mauro a 10 percent pay increase and a retention bonus of $12,500 in October 2022. Following the increase, Mauro’s annual salary was $189,297.
At the time, several council members, Wennstrom included, praised Mauro’s leadership, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is well worth doing,” Council member Monica MickHager said at the time. “I wish we could offer him more.”
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Reporter Peter Segall can be reached at peter.segall@peninsuladailynews.com.
