Update, 5 p.m.: The county has released additional information.
Marion County confirmed Monday the public works manager accused of workplace discrimination and sexual harassment is no longer employed there.
The departure comes nearly two weeks after alleged behavior by Don Newell sparked protests at Marion County’s board of commissioners meetings in October.
Union officials say he was fired, but the county has refused to address the specifics publicly, saying they do not discuss personnel issues.
Rumors that Newell had been fired started surfacing Thursday, but the county repeatedly declined to comment. County spokeswoman Jolene Kelley confirmed his departure Monday. Kelley said Newell’s last day was Oct. 11.
On Monday evening, Marion County Counsel Bruce Armstrong disclosed that the county’s investigation “resulted in a personnel discipline action being taken” regarding Newell.
Newell reportedly told Jamie Namitz as she interviewed for a promotion in August that, if promoted, she would not be respected by employees and that her greatest strength was her “sexuality.”
Namitz told Salem Reporter via text message Monday that she was lucky to have the support because the county would not have taken action.
“I think if the right actions would have been taken, the stress for everyone involved would have been much less,” said Namitz, a public works employee for 16 years. “I made a stand. If I wouldn’t have, he would still be employed.”
“I was lucky to have so much support! Thank you everyone who encouraged me!” she added.
Newell could not be reached for comment.
During Namitz’s statements to the commissioners, she detailed her August interview for an operations road supervisor position where “discrimination reared its ugly head.”
Near the end of the interview, Namitz said she asked multiple interviewers in the room about the highs and lows of the job, what skills they sought and what they perceived were her strengths and weaknesses.
Namitz said Newell, in front of other interviewers, told her she would not be respected by her subordinates and he would have to defend giving her the position.
“And then he proceeded to tell me my biggest strength was my sexuality,” Namitz told the commissioners. “And this was the end of my interview. No one said any words after that. I left the table shocked and appalled.”
Marion County has repeatedly declined to comment on the matter. A week after Namitz’s statements, however, county spokeswoman Jolene Kelley announced the county plans to hire an independent investigator to conduct a “cultural audit.”
“It’s a broad look across the county to see if there’s anything we don’t know about so we can make sure we respond appropriately,” Kelley said at the time.
“The recent events at public works did a play a part” in calling for a cultural audit, Kelley told Salem Reporter. “County leadership takes those incidents very seriously.”
The audit has not started and no agency has been hired. The idea was first proposed Oct. 4 during a department head meeting, Kelley said. The scope of the audit — the county has 15 departments and roughly 1,650 employees — is also unclear.
Trish Stephens, an organizer with the Service Employees International Union Local 503, said that even after Newell’s departure she expects the audit to find more instances of harassment and discrimination.
“This manager has consequences for his actions, but there have been other reports and so we expect this to be ongoing,” she said. “This one manager has been held accountable, but we want to be sure the culture of Marion County improves for all staff.”
This story has been updated to reflect that Marion County has not specifically stated the circumstances around Newell’s departure.
Have a tip? Contact reporter Troy Brynelson at 503-357-3207, [email protected], or @TroyWB.
