City Council to Consider Censuring Council Member MacDonald

Santa Rosa, CA - The City of Santa Rosa is committed to maintaining a positive, respectful workplace to best serve our employees and community. We also have obligations to maintain a workplace free from harassment. We take employee complaints very seriously.

The City received an employee complaint alleging harassment by Council Member Dianna MacDonald this summer. We hired an independent attorney workplace investigator to ensure a fair, thorough, and unbiased investigation. The investigator found that Council Member MacDonald violated the City's Anti-Harassment policy by making unwelcomed sexual comments to City employees about her consensual romantic relationship with a different City employee, engaging in negative behavior toward City employees because of that romantic relationship, and trying to influence an operational decision that she perceived would benefit her romantic partner.

Based on the investigator's findings, the City Council will conside r censuring Council Member MacDonald and taking steps to prevent similar conduct in the future at its December 16^th Council meeting. A censure is a public admonishment of behavior; it does not remove an elected official from office.

"City Council is committed to a respectful workplace for City employees, free of harassment, and we require appropriate conduct from City Council members as well as staff," said Mayor Mark Stapp. "Council must hold ourselves accountable if a Member violates the City's Anti-Harassment Policy. It's appropriate for us to consider censure in light of the independent investigator's findings."

If approved, the censure would:

The City does not provide detailed information about workplace investigations and related personnel matters because of employee privacy rights and confidentiality requirements.