Phoenix mulls harassment, discrimination policy for council members

The Republic | azcentral.com

The Phoenix City Council may adopt a policy that would allow council members to remove one another from their positions for harassment or discrimination. But it would also need voter approval.

Following the flood of allegations of sexual harassment against national and state politicians over the past year, Phoenix Councilwoman Kate Gallego researched the city's protocol in case similar allegations arose locally.

She found there isn't one. The city has a policy in place for employees, but not for elected officials or volunteers serving on city boards or commissions.

On Tuesday, city staff brought forward a draft policy for elected officials and board members that would prohibit not only sexual harassment, but also harassment or discrimination based on a number of things, including sex, religion, race, gender identity or disability.

The proposed non-discrimination and anti-harassment policy would also prohibit retaliation against anyone who makes or investigates a complaint.

The council's Sustainability, Housing, Efficiency and Neighborhoods Subcommittee recommended that the council be able to punish violators of the policy with a censure, civil penalty of up to $2,500 or removal from office.

"Removal from office should be an option. It was something, for example, in the case of (former state Rep.) Don Shooter, (that) was a successful outcome," Gallego said.

The removal provision is significant because the City Council currently can't vote to remove one another from office.

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A Phoenix council member can only be removed from his or her seat with a formal recall election, according to the city's charter, which means voters would have to approve the change. The question would appear for the next scheduled election if the full council approves the new ordinance next week.

The subcommittee recommended that the new policy only apply to an elected official or board member's behavior while conducting city business or campaigning for city office.

However, the subcommittee recommended that the council also amend its current ethics policy to make sure elected officials and board members can be held responsible for actions in their personal lives as well.

The existing ethics policy includes a handful of rules on things such as conflicts of interest and the acceptance of gifts. The subcommittee recommended it be amended to include that elected officials and board members "comply with all applicable laws."

Assistant City Attorney Dan Brown said this language would allow the City Council to investigate and sanction its members if they are accused of sexual harassment outside of their elected role (like the current situation with Tempe Councilman Kolby Granville), or if they violated any other law (like former Mesa Councilman Ryan Winkle's DUI conviction).

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Brown said that if the council adopts the amendment, Phoenix's ethics policy will be identical to that of Mesa's. But unlike Mesa, where the council removed Winkle after his DUI, Phoenix still wouldn't be able to remove a member for an ethics violation. Only a violation of the proposed non-discrimination and anti-harassment policy could constitute removal.

Allie Bones, CEO of the Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence, thanked the subcommittee for moving forward with a policy that includes protection against retaliation.

"If you feel like you are somehow going to be demoted or lose your job or have any action taken against you for bringing forward even just an allegation, you are not going to bring that forward. People's livelihoods are at stake," she said.

Jodi Liggett, chairwoman of the Phoenix Women's Commission, applauded the city's urgency in adopting a policy.

"It's terrifying that there really was no policy governing elected officials' conduct or even on boards or commissions with volunteers, such as the one I serve on," she said.

Liggett, who lobbies at the state Legislature, said she spent her 20-year career working with elected officials in Phoenix, the Legislature and the Governor's Office, and in each instance, she "either personally experienced harassment or witnessed it directly."

"It affects careers and livelihoods in ways that you can't even imagine," she said. "I don't really want anyone for a minute to forget how serious this really is."

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