[CPProt.net] Former Douglas County Museum Director Stacey McLaughlin filed suit Wednesday against the county and its three commissioners

[MSN CPPnet (Ton Cremers)]

Former museum director sues county
 
By JOHN SOWELL
The News-Review, jsowell at newsreview.info
December 8, 2005

Former Douglas County Museum Director Stacey McLaughlin filed suit Wednesday
against the county and its three commissioners, alleging wrongful discharge,
defamation and retaliation.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. Federal Court in Eugene, seeks an unspecified
amount in compensatory and punitive damages. 

McLaughlin also asks to be reinstated and to receive a public apology.

County officials had not yet received a copy of the complaint this morning
and declined comment.

The lawsuit alleges that Commissioners Dan Van Slyke and Marilyn Kittelman
undertook a campaign to publicly humiliate and embarrass McLaughlin, damage
her reputation and force her from her position. 

The two commissioners also cultivated criticism of McLaughlin and sought
information on any mistakes or errors made by the museum director to use
against her, the suit claims.

At the same time, they never confronted McLaughlin about any alleged
problems or gave her an opportunity to defend herself or explain any of her
actions, the lawsuit contends.

Van Slyke and Kittelman spread false stories about her and only reinstated
McLaughlin after a five-month suspension in order to set her up to be fired,
the 54-page complaint filed by Martha Walters, McLaughlin's attorney,
claimed.

McLaughlin was fired Nov. 2, two weeks after she was reinstated. The action
came after the commissioners claimed McLaughlin had retaliated against
museum employees and had made working conditions at the museum unbearable.

The campaign against McLaughlin allegedly began shortly after Kittelman came
into office on Jan. 3. She replaced former longtime Commissioner Joyce
Morgan, who had served as liaison to the museum. Kittelman assumed that
role.

Two weeks later, Kittelman told McLaughlin not to present an exhibit on the
Greek goddess Hebe. McLaughlin said she was told the exhibit was
inappropriate because of public opposition to the installation of a statue
in downtown Roseburg to replace one that had been there in the early 20th
century.

The lawsuit contends Kittelman did not have authority to issue the order and
that the Board of Commissioners did not discuss the matter nor issue any
order. McLaughlin claims Kittelman likewise did not have authority to issue
her a written order on Jan. 20, 2005, stating that the full board was
ordering her to stop the exhibit.

The Board of Commissioners never met before that order was issued, either,
the suit claims. 

Following a public outcry, the Board of Commissioners backed down and
allowed the exhibit to continue. 

McLaughlin claims Van Slyke and Kittelman became angry with her in resisting
the order to stop the exhibit and for providing information to people who
called her seeking information about what had happened. 

The former museum directors said the two commissioners made the decision to
fire her and then discussed their idea with fellow Commissioner Doug
Robertson, who allegedly agreed to have McLaughlin dismissed.

The commissioners allegedly decided to wait for the controversy about the
Hebe decision to die down before they carried out their plans. Meanwhile,
Van Slyke and Kittelman allegedly took action to embarrass and humiliate
McLaughlin, including writing a guest column in The News-Review and speaking
to reporters about McLaughlin's alleged incompetence.

The complaint also alleges Kittelman provided false information about
McLaughlin to several people and encouraged them to write letters to the
editor. The complaint cites letters from five individuals that were
published between May and July that reportedly contained false and
humiliating information.

The complaint alleges Kittelman and Van Slyke also provided false
information about McLaughlin to Ron Guerra, the county's risk manager. They
had Guerra draft a memorandum to McLaughlin dated April 21 detailing alleged
liability issues and charging that her failure to address the issues could
result in "significant loss of property or even life."

McLaughlin said she was never given a copy of the memo, nor given the
opportunity to respond to the items listed. The complaint alleges the letter
was written to embarrass McLaughlin later.

The complaint said county officials knew that sprinkler heads inside the
museum had been painted over before McLaughlin was hired in May 1988, yet
Van Slyke and Kittelman blamed her. That was one of the life safety issues
mentioned in the April 21 memo and in the letters to the editor. 

Steve Chaney, the county's building facilities manager, made plans in 2003
to repair the sprinkler heads but later postponed the repairs after speaking
to a fire marshal. They determined immediate action wasn't necessary.

McLaughlin said she was never informed of any complaints against her after
she was reinstated following her suspension. After media reports that museum
employees had walked off the job because she had retaliated against them,
McLaughlin said she informed the commissioners those allegations were untrue
but they did nothing to learn the truth.

The complaint also alleges Kittelman stacked the county's Museum Advisory
Committee with people who were hostile to McLaughlin. 

Two of the three people Kittelman recommended for appointment to the board
while McLaughlin was on suspension had submitted negative information about
McLaughlin to the commissioners and the investigator hired to look into the
museum situation. Those two people were later appointed to the board. 

The third person, who was not appointed to the board, had testified before
the commissioners in favor of their decision to halt the Hebe exhibit, the
lawsuit alleges. 

. You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at
jsowell at newsreview.info.