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Bushnell
An outside investigation has sustained an allegation against Supervisor Michelle Bushnell, finding that she violated the county’s code of conduct by mistreating a staff member during a meeting in the Planning Department late last year.
As we reported in April, an unidentified county planner accused Bushnell of losing her temper, berating and threatening the employee and slamming a door.
The investigation, conducted by Monterey County-based attorney Richard “Ren” Nosky, concludes that the county planner wasn’t blameless in the incident. Their own behavior at the Dec. 29 meeting “played a large role in provoking Bushnell and created an awkward and hostile tone,” his report summary says
But the Second District county supervisor, who was less than a year into her first term at the time, responded poorly.
“Bushnell reacted combatively to the employee, which escalated the tension at the meeting to the point where Bushnell left the room,” the summary notes.
Back in April, Bushnell admitted to getting upset and said she accidentally slammed a door on her way out Planning Director John Ford’s office. Reached by phone on Monday she reiterated that she’d become distressed during the meeting because she felt the county planner was mistreating constituents who were seeking help with cannabis permits.
“I do not wish for my constituents to be treated poorly by any staff member — that’s what happened,” Bushnell said. But she added that she doesn’t want to make excuses for her own behavior. “I still need to do better and not react and let the proper people deal with that. … I’ll do better.”
The investigation report summary says Bushnell’s behavior violated the county Board of Supervisors’ code of conduct in two ways:
First, Bushnell’s conduct violated Section B(3) of the Code of Conduct, which requires that Supervisors, “practice civility and decorum in discussions and debate, and refrain from abusive conduct, personal charges … or verbal attacks upon the character or motives of … staff … which has the effect of disrupting the County’s business … .” Even though Bushnell was provoked, she was overly confrontational with the employee and questioned the employee’s qualifications in front of a constituent. This did not show proper decorum and reflected poorly on her office.
Second, Bushnell’s conduct violated Section B(10) of the Code of Conduct, which requires that Supervisors “support the maintenance of a positive and constructive workplace environment for County employees … .” The policy also requires that Supervisors “address County employees, whether in public or in private, with courtesy and respect.” While Bushnell was provoked by the employee to a degree, it was inappropriate for her to engage with the employee in such a provocative fashion in front of her constituent and other staff members. The confrontation produced a highly awkward situation and did not serve to support a positive workplace environment for those staff members.
The code of conduct was revised last spring in the wake of the employee’s complaint.
That complaint also alleged that Bushnell inappropriately interfered in the cannabis permitting process by personally advocating on behalf of the applicant while disregarding evidence that the applicant had violated a number of county codes.
That finding was not sustained, nor were additional allegations that came in after the Board of Supervisors’ April 4 meeting.
At tomorrow’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Bushnell and her colleagues will discuss the findings of the investigation and consider whether to formally censure her, which would require a “yes’ vote from at least two-thirds of the board members present and voting, per county code. In other words, if all five supervisors are present and Bushnell recuses herself, at least three of the remaining four would need to vote in favor of the formal rebuke for it to pass.
Bushnell said she doesn’t know what will happen tomorrow, but in the past 10 months she’s worked to improve her behavior.
“I’ve done a lot of classes and training since [the incident] just to better myself,” she said. “I’ve been in many meetings with the director and staff and constituents and have not had a repeated incident — nor will I, ever. But I do want to say, I won’t let my constituents be beat up.”
After hanging up, she called back to speak on behalf of staff, generally.
“County staff, for the most part, are amazing,” she said.
The Board of Supervisors meeting is scheduled to begin Tuesday at 9 a.m. inside board chambers at the county courthouse. You can download the full meeting agenda, which includes instructions for participating remotely, by clicking here.
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