Salem Mayor Julie Hoy lied to Council President Linda Nishioka by telling her a majority of the city council supported asking Salem’s former city manager to resign, a state ethics investigation shows.

Hoy’s conversation in early February led Nishioka to warn Keith Stahley that most councilors wanted him gone, leading Stahley to resign abruptly. 

But in interviews with an Oregon Government Ethics Commission investigator, seven city councilors at the time said they never told Hoy they wanted the city manager gone. That’s according to the investigator’s report, released last week, which will be considered by the commission on Oct. 10. 

READ IT: Investigator’s report on Hoy

The investigator concluded that Hoy and five Salem city councilors “deliberately coordinated and orchestrated” an illegal serial meeting to avoid making a public decision on firing Stahley.

The ethics report was based on emails, text messages, and personal statements from all eight members of the city council, including Hoy. Current city Councilor Mai Vang took office in June and is not included in the report.

The council on Feb. 10 unanimously voted to accept Stahley’s resignation.

Stahley’s resignation cost the city $256,000 in severance pay, close to a full year of Stahley’s $270,000 salary. The cost includes eight months of benefits such as pension and health insurance. 

Four of the seven councilors interviewed by ethics investigators confirmed to Salem Reporter this week that they never told Hoy they supported asking Stahley to resign. They are Nishioka and Councilors Paul Tigan, Micki Varney and Vanessa Nordyke, who is running against Hoy for mayor.

All four councilors who responded were unwilling to say whether they believed Hoy manipulated councilors to effect Stahley’s departure, citing the ongoing ethics investigation. 

A fifth councilor, Shane Matthews, did not respond to a Salem Reporter email this week, but previously told the news organization in a February interview that he never indicated to Hoy that he supported removing Stahley.

Salem Reporter by phone and email on Monday requested an interview with Hoy. On Tuesday, Hoy through a city spokeswoman declined the interview.

Hoy also didn’t respond to detailed questions about conflicting statements sent Monday to her city and campaign emails. Salem Reporter asked the mayor if she disputed statements by any councilor in the report or believed any lied to the investigator.

Hoy also didn’t respond last week to an email seeking comment after the ethics report became public.

Councilors Deanna Gwyn and Irvin Brown did not respond to inquiries from Salem Reporter about their statements to ethics investigators.

The report by commission investigator Josh Sullivan said Hoy approached each councilor individually between Feb. 1 and Feb. 6 to discuss Stahley’s performance and future employment following an unfavorable audit report. 

That topic was within the council’s jurisdiction and Hoy served as an intermediary for deliberations between a quorum of city council resulting in a decision to oust Stahley, the investigation concluded.

The investigator outlined the findings but wasn’t tasked with determining whether Hoy lied.

Leading up to Stahley’s departure, Hoy reached out to each councilor to have one-on-one conversations regarding his performance, according to a response Hoy’s attorney submitted to the ethics commission.

Hoy told at least one councilor – Gwyn – that Stahley’s resignation could be imminent, according to Gwyn’s statement to the ethics commission that was recounted in the investigator’s description of events.

“Hoy speaks with Deanna Gwyn over the phone, stating that there have been conversations about Keith Stahley’s future with the city, and he might be tendering his resignation,” the ethics report said of a call between the two that occurred between Feb. 1 and Feb. 6. “Gwyn expresses surprise but does not give her opinion on the matter.” 

Brown told the ethics investigator that he only recalled having a conversation with Hoy about Stahely’s performance in early January. He was not among the councilors the report implicated in subsequently violating public meetings law.

Tigan spoke with Hoy on Feb. 1 and said he had not read the audit report yet and had not formed an opinion, according to the ethics report.

Tigan confirmed the report’s accuracy in an email to Salem Reporter.

“I did not indicate to the mayor that I supported the termination of the city manager,” Tigan told Salem Reporter. “The investigator’s report accurately reflects that I had not read the audit at that point and told the mayor I had no opinion on it.”

Varney and Hoy spoke by phone on Feb. 2 about the leadership audit and Stahley’s continued employment with the city, according to Varney’s ethics statement. The report said while the audit raised concerns for Varney about Stahley, Varney said councilors should have the opportunity to discuss the final version of the audit. She told Hoy she needed more information before she decided her view on Stahley’s future.

Varney reiterated that on Monday. 

“I did not support the termination of former Salem City Manager Keith Stahley in the days ahead of his resignation,” Varney told Salem Reporter in a text message.

Nordyke told the ethics investigator that she and Hoy spoke at Hoy’s office on Feb. 3 regarding Stahley’s performance. Hoy then told Nordyke that she wanted Stahley to resign, the report said. 

“Nordyke states that she did not believe there was sufficient basis to ask Stahley to resign, or that this discipline was warranted, and she suggests postponing any action until after the levy election,” the report said. 

Asked this week if she told Hoy that she supported Stahley’s ouster, Nordyke responded, “Absolutely not.”

The ethics investigation showed that Nishioka indicated via text message to then-Deputy City Manager Krishna Namburi on Feb. 10 that Hoy told her that all city councilors except  Nordyke wanted to see Stahley resign. 

That prompted Nishioka to suggest to Stahley in a personal meeting that he should resign to avoid a contentious public resignation process, the investigation found. 

Nishioka told Salem Reporter in an email that she “did not have any communications with Mayor Julie Hoy at any time to indicate, suggest or express support for the termination of former City Manager Keith Stahley.”

Hoy, through her attorney Jill Gibson, denied in an April response to the ethics commission that she “told Councilor Nisihoka that a majority of city councilors wanted Keith Stahley to resign, and states that Keith Stahley was never asked to resign.”

The ethics report, however, concluded, “The mayor admits she spoke to every councilor about the matter through one-on-one conversations…Mayor Hoy then communicated the results of her conversations that a majority wanted the city manager to resign and communicated that to Councilor Nishioka.”

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

Ethics investigator finds Mayor Julie Hoy, 5 councilors engaged in illegal serial meeting 

Ethics commission votes to investigate Salem mayor, councilors over possibly unethical communications

State investigator concludes Salem council discussed manager’s ouster out of public view

Records reveal Nishioka wanted to sue Hoy after Stahley resigned  

Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected] or 503-335-7790.

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