Local attorney Chuck Henry, in a letter to the Port Townsend City Council dated Nov. 2, has urged the council to take formal action on Brent Shirley’s complaint against City Manager John Mauro, and warning them to not let the matter continue to go unaddressed.

“By doing nothing,” Henry warns, “you will be powerless to defend yourselves from the likelihood of allegations of negligence, compounding any possible damage which may have been caused by the city manager.”

In his letter, Henry urges the council to consider two courses of action. First, Henry suggests that city council, in open session, consider Shirley’s complaint together with any related information it may have, and dismiss it as unfounded. As an alternative, Henry suggests appointing an independent investigator, someone separate and independent of Mauro to determine whether the complaint has merit and requires action by the council.”

Both options, Henry writes, have potential consequences, but he cautions the council against doing nothing at all.

Henry said he helped Shirley draft a complaint letter in May, urging city council to look into allegations that Mauro had mistreated city employees, citizens and elected officials. At the time, city council did not formally address Shirley’s concerns and instead referred him to a meeting with Alexandra Kenyon, an attorney for the city and the city’s human resources director, Cynthia Shaffer.

Henry said that meeting was inherently conflicted because the two people tasked with hearing Shirley’s allegations report to Mauro and can be hired and fired at will.

Shirley said he collected statements from 12 individuals alleging mistreatment by Mauro, but the meeting with Kenyon and Shaffer ended when they asked him to divulge the names and Shirley refused. Shirley told Kenyon and Shaffer that he would only provide names to an independent investigator appointed by city council.

“The response to Mr. Shirley’s complaint resulted in two conflicted agents arranging an interview with Mr. Shirley, both of whom were appointed to those positions by Mr. Mauro,” Henry wrote.  “Mr. Shirley was pressured by them to substantiate his claims by providing dates, names and information of the former employees and others who had complained to him of abusive behavior. He correctly and rightfully refused because of the obvious control of the situation by the city manager.”

According to state law, the city manager has the power to hire and fire department heads, including the human resources director and city attorney, at any time. The law also prohibits city council, including the mayor, from directly interfering with the city manager in the appointment or removal of employees.

“The two conflicted city agents refused to further present the complaint and the council did nothing, which effectively ended the complaint without resolution,” Henry wrote.

“I have continued consulting with him, and others, since last spring, when I believe the council failed in its duty to follow the statutory guidelines on handling complaints against a ‘strong’ city manager,” Henry wrote.  “That may have left the city exposed to potential litigation and significant financial damages from any one or more of the city employees who have resigned or who took early retirement since Mr. Mauro took office as city manager.”

To date, and despite Shirley’s assertions that he has 12 testimonies ready to be heard, no one has been willing to speak on the record with Leader staff.

Shirley served on city council from 1980 to 1982 and was Port Townsend’s mayor from 1983 to 1993. On May 6, Shirley sent his complaint against Mauro to city council requesting an investigation.

A performance review dated 2020, and obtained through an open records request, credits Mauro for strong collaborative and communication skills, and describes him as “a skilled strategist” and “competent and hard-working.”

“John is a strong collaborator and bridge-builder – relations and cooperation between the city, county, port and PUD (public utility district) and other agencies has never been higher, and that bodes well for our region’s future,” one reviewer wrote.

Salt and peppered through the same narratives are cautionary notes.

“John has a temper and can sometimes ‘snap’ when stressed,” wrote one city council reviewer.

“If you find yourself slipping into a shouting match or losing your temper, call a time out and set time to re-engage later,” another city council member wrote.

One councilmember noted that Mauro “can sometimes circle the wagons rather than digging in to address an issue properly and move forward.”

Despite requests for comment from all current city council members, only Mayor David Faber and council members Owen Rowe and Ben Thomas replied. Amy Howard, Neil Nelson, Libby Wennstrom and Monica MickHager did not.

Faber has unequivocally supported Mauro and has questioned why the Leader has “spent so much ink” on the story. Faber spent nearly five minutes during a Nov. 4 city council meeting lambasting the Leader for its coverage. Audio from the meeting indicates other councilmembers supported Faber’s statements.

Rowe described Mauro’s tenure as “admirable” and shared similar sentiment.

“I received a request for comment … on alleged ‘misrepresentations’ of John Mauro’s resume and qualifications,” Rowe wrote in an email. (Shirley has also questioned if Mauro’s qualifications were accurately represented during the 2019 hiring process.)

“The only misrepresentations in this case are those by your newspaper and the former local leaders whose sad frustration with Mr. Mauro’s admirable stewardship of our city over the past five years has driven them to their present extreme. Your newspaper and reporting are working to stoke division and mistrust in our community. As an elected leader, I must ask you to stop. The role of the press is to report the facts without fear or favor. Inflammatory innuendo, gossip, hearsay, and misinformation are not facts, and reporting them as such does nothing to build a community where we can all thrive.”

When asked, via email, to identify the inflammatory innuendo, gossip, hearsay or misinformation in the reporting, Rowe did not respond.

Thomas also stressed the importance of moving forward.

“This is a tough subject for councilors,” Thomas wrote. “We owe it to our constituents to follow up on concerns that they voice about anything in our purview, which of course includes the city manager. We also want to keep things moving forward for the sake of this town and be considerate of the city manager as a human being with a family and a career. John was hired before I was on Council and I must admit that I haven’t gone back to research the details of his resume and its veracity. Having a positive-sum perspective on life keeps me sane, and I feel it’s my responsibility to get the most out of our current situation rather than re-litigating the past. I would like to see John’s skillset fully activated in service of our community, and I believe that’s all he wants as well.”

Thomas said he also respects Shirley who he said, “has served this town well and I believe he took this cause on in good faith.”

“I see this as an opportunity for growth, Thomas said. “I don’t see any reason why this needs to devolve into a ‘this side vs. that side’ dynamic. I feel like we’ve had enough drama and have a lot of work to get to.”

Former city council member Pam Adams, who served during Mauro’s hiring, said she shared former Mayor Michelle Sandoval’s sentiment that Mauro was an impressive, engaged and willing communicator with city residents and elected officials alike.

“I consider his hiring as one of the highlights of my council tenure,” Adams said.