Puyallup mayor had ‘boundary issues’ with staff
Jul 6, 2012, 3:55 PM | Updated: 5:15 pm
The mayor of Puyallup received an informal reprimand in the form of a memorandum back in May for inappropriately touching a female staff member, the city manager confirmed Friday.
According to the memo, which is dated May 16, Mayor Rick Hansen had “boundary issues” with females employees of the city, including an alleged incident of “unwelcome contact that was witnessed by third parties.”
The note was sent to the mayor from City Manager Ralph W. Dannenberg, who told 97.3 KIRO FM it was his duty to address concerns about unlawful harassment and inappropriate behavior.
“I have a duty to act upon concerns raised by city employees about any conduct or behavior that could violate city policies,” he said.
Although Dannenberg would not go into detail about the nature of the contact, he said the alleged incident occurred in April while the female employee was in the office.
“She was very offended by that,” Dannenberg said of the alleged touching. “She was standing by a group of fellow employees, at least one of which clearly saw the whole thing.”
Mayor Hansen was asked to take one-on-one sexual harassment training, which he has since completed. The city council was also made aware of the incident, but so far has taken no official action.
Dannenberg said Mayor Hansen has had no previous reports of inappropriate behavior.
