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Carson Clerk Jim Dear suspended from City Hall amid concerns he could ‘snap’
http://www.dailybreeze.com/government-a ... could-snap


Carson’s embattled city clerk, former Mayor Jim Dear, was suspended from work this week after an investigation revealed employees fear he could “snap or go postal” and some have even planned escape routes in City Hall.

The Riverside law firm of Creason & Aarvig, hired last month by City Manager Ken Farfsing, investigated claims by seven employees that Dear called them “incompetent,” “scumbag,” “evil,” “stupid and “a—hole,” and made racially derogatory comments, among other concerns, investigator Maria Aarvig said.

Aarvig’s investigation confirmed that Dear, who served as mayor for 11 years, has been harassing, threatening and discriminating against employees. She also suggested city officials beef up security measures to protect those who work at City Hall.

“There is a concern that Mr. Dear would just snap or ‘go postal.’ There is a fear he could become violent,” Aarvig said. “Some employees are so concerned about personal safety that they have planned escape routes” from City Hall.

Aarvig presented her findings to City Council members Tuesday night and, in response, the panel voted 5-0 to remove Dear from City Hall while security measures are boosted. Further, they called a special meeting at 5 p.m. today to consider new policies to combat discrimination, harassment, nepotism and violence in the workplace, and also to encourage Dear to “seek psychiatric counseling regarding the behavior issues,” as Aarvig suggested. The meeting will be held at 701 E. Carson St.

“Given the number of complaining parties and the frequency of the offensive conduct, Mr. Dear’s conduct could be found to be severe and pervasive,” Aarvig told the council. “An atmosphere of fear of retaliation and retribution exists among the city staff.”

Dear, who was elected clerk in March, is not subject to the strict personnel standards required of city employees because he was seated by voters. But Aarvig said he has violated the city’s established code of conduct for public officials.

Since taking the clerk’s seat, Dear has repeatedly clashed with City Council members — particularly Mayor Albert Robles, whom he has openly criticized and accused of living outside the city. Robles now is being investigated by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office over his residency, and has been told to resign one of his two public offices. His position on the Water Replenishment District of Southern California board overlaps with his duties as mayor of Carson, the office believes.

Aarvig interviewed 13 employees, reporting that many were reluctant to say anything negative about Dear, who is the subject of a recall campaign because of his erratic behavior and perceived abuses of power as clerk.

Though the issue has not yet qualified for a ballot, Dear is campaigning against the recall effort. He sent out a mailer to residents claiming that a proposed National Football League stadium could be threatened if he is removed from office. Officials with the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders, who are sponsoring the proposed stadium, said that’s inaccurate.

During a City Council meeting in June, Dear lashed out at Robles and his political rivals with an incoherent rant after the council thwarted his attempt to block newly elected Councilman Jawane Hilton from being seated. Dear delayed final ballot counts in the city’s June 2 election after his preferred candidate didn’t win.

Employees reported that Dear stokes racial divisions in the city, has made racist comments such as “We can’t let the blacks take over,” and blamed crime on black people, Aarvig said.

“His public persona is entirely different to the way he behaves at work,” she said, adding that he routinely has angry outbursts and displays erratic and unpredictable behavior.

Dear and his supporters argued Tuesday that the investigation was politically motivated, and that the longtime public official has done nothing wrong.

“You can hire an investigator to find out whatever you want them to find out,” Dear said. “You pay them and feed them false information. Bring in the District Attorney’s Office, that’s what you should do.

“During my 11 years (as mayor) I took extreme abuse. If you watch the council meetings on tape you will see. I usually said ‘thank you’ or ‘next, please.’ I didn’t lose my temper. I’m actually a very level-headed person and very reasonable. I get mad like everyone else and that’s pretty normal. But the issue at hand today is this is nothing but a political vendetta.”

There Is No Suspension, Dear Says
http://www.thefrontpageonline.com/news/ ... -dear-says

Mr. Dear. Photo: Compton Herald


Dateline Carson – No question that Jim Dear is the most colorful city clerk in Southern California. Maybe east or west of Bulgaria.

But in the 6½ months since he stepped aside from an 11-year tenure as mayor to challenge the incumbent city clerk for her much better paying position, his reputation has taken a bloody beating.

How do you say pulp?

Mr. Dear said this morning that his political enemies – not mere rivals – have been busy thinking up ways to drive him from office.

At the City Council meeting two nights ago, following an investigation of a baker’s dozen of supposedly Dear-fearing employees by an outside law firm, it was announced Mr. Dear indefinitely was being suspended from his job.

“There is no suspension,” Mr. Dear said. “That is inaccurate. I am not suspended, and they cannot suspend me. I am an elected official, elected by the voters. They can’t suspend me from my duties.”

He has responded to the intended discipline by coming to work every day and serving a full day.

Sounds like something out of a dime novel? Or late-night television?

The lead prober told the Council members who ordered the investigation that Mr. Dear’s co-workers are frightened of him. They shudder to think that he could “go postal” any hour, any day.

Allegedly terrified, some have plotted secret passages out of City Hall to save their lives.

Typically, Mr. Dear confronts these lurid accusations with calm candor.

“I have my hands full here with politics,” he tells the newspaper, meaning he believes his political enemies – not rivals – are pursuing him double-armed, with hammer and scythe.

His enemies – not rivals – are no secret, Mayor Albert Robles and Councilperson Lula Davis-Holmes. In introducing them, Mr. Dear identifies Mr. Robles as “the crook mayor” and Ms. Davis-Holmes as “my political rival whose mentor is the former mayor Daryl Sweeney who went to prison (in a bribery scandal).” Mr. Dear supported Mr. Robles for mayor two years ago “but he turned out to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

“Let me just say that Albert Robles has numerous problems,” Mr. Dear said. “So many investigations of him are going on (related to where he lives, alleged conflicts-of-interest on two commissions where he serves and an assault charge).

“What they are trying to do is divert attention off of him with the same false accusations against me – that I am a racist, that I say racist things to employees now.

“They make phony accusations against me and they get the media to write about it. This is like planting a story in a newspaper.

“Looks like the L.A. Times is not taking the bait,” Mr. Dear said. “But the (South Bay) Daily Breeze is such a Mickey Mouse newspaper. They are hot-to-trot to print anything negative about me or about Carson.”

I guess losing Jim Dear Blvd was just too much...

Jim isn't the only nut job in Carson. You ought to meet the city council. All of them are out to lunch.

Sounds like a football stadium might be further down their list of worries.

Can't make him leave, let's have him sit in a corner until he behaves . . .

Carson Clerk Jim Dear allowed back at City Hall in limited capacity
http://www.dailybreeze.com/government-a ... d-capacity

By Sandy Mazza, Daily Breeze
POSTED: 09/18/15, 6:37 PM PDT | UPDATED: 9 MINS AGO 3 COMMENTS

Carson City Clerk Jim Dear, ordered to stay away from City Hall this week out of concern that he might harm co-workers, was allowed to return to his office Friday as City Council members began censure proceedings against him.

Interim City Manager Ken Farfsing implemented increased security measures in the wake of an independent investigator’s findings that 13 employees said Dear verbally abused, harassed, bullied and threatened them. He also is accused of marginalizing black employees, making racist comments to City Hall staff, spying on them and forcing officials to hire his girlfriend.

At a special meeting Thursday night to discuss Dear, four members of the City Council voted to support Farfsing’s recommendations that the clerk’s staff be moved to another office and interact with Dear only on the phone and via email.

The council also voted 4-0 to begin proceedings to censure Dear — an official condemnation of his behavior. His ally, Councilman Elito Santarina, abstained from the votes, saying he wants to know more about the investigation.

The council majority also approved anti-harassment, anti-discrimination and anti-workplace violence training for Dear and all staff. The council limited Dear’s duties and ordered him to only have access to areas in City Hall necessary to do his job during office hours. Employees reported fearing that he would “snap or go postal,” and the city is working on a resolution to prohibit weapons in or near City Hall and protect employees from any attempts to seek retribution.

“We recommend relocating the city clerk staff to the field deputy’s office, where they will not be in direct contact with Mr. Dear,” Farfsing said. “After Mr. Dear adheres to training, completes training, and seeks professional help, an independent investigator will interview Mr. Dear and provide clearance” for him to return to his regular schedule.

Farfsing, who was appointed in July, said the revelations in the investigative report came as a shock to him. Dear, who served as mayor of Carson for 11 years until he was elected clerk in March, was allowed for years to act inappropriately because he held the power to hire or fire the city’s top manager, Farfsing said.

“City employees did come forward almost a decade ago on numerous occasions ... but those city managers did nothing to resolve the complaints,” Farfsing said. “I have a responsibility to protect my employees. I’ve been protecting employees for 38 years and I’m not going to stop now.”

He apologized that the former city managers took no action against Dear.

Maria Aarvig, an attorney with the Riverside firm Creason & Aarvig, investigated the complaints at Farfsing’s request during the first two weeks of this month. Her investigation will continue because more employees have come forward.

“What I heard (from employees) was a lot of fear and distrust of the existing city manager’s ability to do anything to help them out,” Aarvig said. “But I also heard that the former city managers wouldn’t have done anything to help them because they themselves were at risk.”

At Tuesday’s regular council meeting and Thursday’s special meeting, Dear and residents who support him said the investigation was orchestrated by political rivals he calls corrupt and evil. They criticized the cost to the city, which could reach as much as $50,000.

“This is just trumped-up junk,” resident Terri Forsythe said. “Any one of you can find people who don’t like you. This is just a kangaroo court.”

Dear’s attorney, Bradley Hertz, compared the case against Dear to the Salem witch trials and the McCarthy-era accusations of treason against political dissidents.

“Now let’s look at the timing,” Hertz said. “We have a mayor under investigation for several ethical lapses but where’s that special investigation? We also have a recall against the city clerk. Might this entire political charade be the misuse of public funds to support the recall against Jim Dear?”

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is investigating Mayor Albert Robles to determine whether he actually lives in the city, and is pursuing a civil case against him to remove him from his post on the board of the Water Replenishment District of Southern California. Prosecutors believe that position overlaps with his duties in Carson.

Hertz, backed by dozens of Dear supporters during the public meetings, said the clerk is being unfairly marginalized, harassed and bullied.

“This seems like a first-class railroad,” resident Roye Love said. “Doesn’t he get some kind of defense? He could be a Jekyll-and-Hyde, but we don’t see it.”

William Koons said he doesn’t believe anyone who works in the clerk’s office would be afraid of Dear: “Where is the evidence?” he asked.

Residents who have been opposed to Dear’s tactics for years unloaded their own complaints, and said such an investigation was long overdue.

Former Councilwoman Julie Ruiz-Raber, who was allied with Dear until he began efforts to name streets and buildings after himself and his political allies three years ago, listed a series of retaliations she said she endured. (The City Council recently changed the name of Jim Dear Boulevard to Stadium Way, in anticipation of a stadium deal with the National Football League.)

“Anybody who says he doesn’t bully, he does,” Ruiz-Raber said. “After a council meeting when he had called me names, we walked out. He knocked my papers and my book on the floor and then proceeded to kick them around. At a party, he ran over my foot with a wheelchair. These are childish things, but it’s bullying.”

Former City Treasurer Karen Avila congratulated the employees who reported the allegations against Dear.

“This has been going on for years and years,” Avila said. “It was not easy for them to come forward. It takes a great amount of courage for our employees. The stress is tremendous.”

Dianne Thomas, who is participating in the recall campaign against Dear, said the council took a bold, but necessary step in supporting Farfsing and the findings of the investigation.

“What’s at stake here are the employees,” Thomas said. “I know all their stories were documented and corroborated. Move forward, and do your duty to protect the citizens and those in the employment of this city.”

Dear went to City Hall on Wednesday even though he was not supposed to return this week, saying he delivered resident signatures to withdraw the recall campaign against him. But Farfsing said he was told Dear also asked that his official city portrait be moved to the clerk’s office, and talked improperly with employees.

Dear disputed that statement, insisting he needed to fulfill his clerk’s duties.

“This is really layered and layered untruths, false statements, hearsay, gossip and rumor,” Dear said. “Staff should be ashamed of themselves for even being a part of this. It’s really disappointing to the people of Carson.”

Newly appointed Councilwoman Donesia Gause, who lost the clerk’s seat to Dear in March, said the council is only protecting employees.

“It’s not our goal to be punitive to the city clerk,” Gause said. “We cannot forget the city employees. My mom always said: ‘The truth can bear scrutiny.’ The finger-pointing and the back-and-forth is unnecessary because people’s livelihoods are at stake here.”

I know what they can do with him....

I live in the middle of a "three ring circus"?

It's Bring Your Posse to Work month:

Carson officials will seek restraining order against City Clerk Jim Dear
http://www.dailybreeze.com/general-news ... k-jim-dear

POSTED: 09/24/15, 8:19 PM PDT | UPDATED: 2 HRS AGO

Carson officials will seek a temporary restraining order today to stop embattled City Clerk Jim Dear from bringing his political supporters to City Hall to assist him with his duties.

Dear, who has been at the center of a series of controversies since he gave up his mayor’s gavel and was elected to the higher-paying clerk’s position in March, on Monday began bringing his friends to work as volunteer deputy clerks, a violation of city protocol, according to City Hall correspondence obtained Thursday by the Daily Breeze.

City attorneys will ask a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge to issue the restraining order against Dear and three supporters for being a “public nuisance.”

Staff members in the clerk’s office were moved to another City Hall office last week after they complained of behavior by Dear they considered threatening.

Dear responded by bringing three friends and supporters — Joy Anderson, Janice Schafer and William Koons — to City Hall to help him with his duties. City officials repeatedly told the friends to stop showing up until they have proper authorization. All workers are required to first undergo interviews, drug tests and background checks before they can be given unrestricted access to city offices and resources.

But the requests were ignored and Dear’s friends continued to arrive at City Hall to help Dear. However, rather than assisting with clerk’s office duties, city officials said they were doing campaign work for Dear, who is the subject of a recall campaign by a group of residents.

“Your failure to honor the city manager’s directive will result in our seeking court orders prohibiting future deputized city clerks from being physically present in non-public and/or restricted areas of City Hall,” City Attorney Sunny Soltani said in a Thursday letter to Dear’s attorney, Bradley Hertz. “(Dear’s) behavior is also adding to the fear of employees around the City Hall.”

The City Council voted to begin censure proceedings against Dear last week after an independent investigation initiated by City Manager Ken Farfsing reportedly uncovered widespread fear of the clerk’s erratic behavior, racist comments and threats to employees. The three members of the clerk’s department staff were moved to another area of City Hall and Dear was given sole use of the clerk’s office. His duties and access to City Hall also were limited to prevent further personnel problems.

Dear said the charges are politically motivated lies.

Responding to Soltani’s concerns, Hertz said Dear wants his supporters there to “serve as witnesses in the event false allegations are made against Mr. Dear, as well as to provide the clerk’s office with some level of staffing given that Mr. Dear’s staff has been removed.”

Soltani replied that Dear’s staff members merely are in a different office but continue to carry out their duties and are available to help Dear. She also said Dear’s friends cannot serve as witnesses for him because it is illegal “to appoint deputies for this purpose.”

bubbaramfan wrote:I live in the middle of a "three ring circus"?

City Hall v. Circus?

To be fair, one has loud animals leaving droppings all over the place, the other one is the Circus.