Cottonwood residents should be ashamed of four members of City Council after three of them — Lisa DuVernay, Stephen DeWillis and Michael Mathews — refused to condemn the sexual misconduct of Councilman Derek Palosaari toward numerous city staffers that has been uncovered by a human resources investigation.
After a shameful and embarrassing “debate,” the three cowards refused to believe the report from their own city staffers, refused to believe the victims were harassed by their colleague and have effectively condoned his future actions.
Not only does this put female staff at risk, as well as the wives, daughters, girlfriends and grandchildren who may think that city facilities are safe places and that elected officials are trustworthy, it also makes the city liable for sexual harassment or sexual misconduct lawsuits soon to follow if Palosaari’s behavior continues — and it will continue because DuVernay, DeWillis and Mathews made it clear they will turn a blind eye.
To the female staffers employed by the city of Cottonwood, be warned that DuVernay, DeWillis and Mathews are cowards who will not protect you if Palosaari’s disgusting and reprehensible sexual harassment continues. Call police immediately. These seat-warmers falsely pretending to be leaders are too spineless to defend you and have made it clear that the city’s sexual harassment policy does not apply to council members, who now know they are above the law. Only a police officer will protect you from his advances.
DuVernay and DeWillis ran uncontested and voted to appoint Mathews — this is what happens when elections are uncontested. Real leaders must run for office and chase these cowards out of public office.
The human resources investigation was extensive and illuminating. The details it contains, which the council members could have obtained prior to the meeting had they performed the bare minimum of due diligence, make clear that Palosaari has been engaging in a systemic pattern of misconduct toward the women who help run the city.
Both the resolution and the human resources report stated that Palosaari admitted to one victim’s husband in the presence of the city’s human relations director on Dec. 8 that he put his hands on an employee without permission and asked her about the size of her breasts. He even repeated the question when her husband asked Palosaari directly what he had said that had made his wife visibly upset.
The city was entirely right to ban Palosaari from all non-public spaces. If council won’t defend female staffers, thankfully, staff will protect each other.
Other testimony explains how Palosaari got uncomfortably close to female staffers and smelled their hair. He placed his hands on them without permission.
He has asked women about their breasts, discussed their weight or their clothing, then stared at their breasts.
Even after the Dec. 8 incident, a further incident took place on Dec. 12, when Palosaari was give a candy cane pen by a female staffer that he then licked “provocatively,” which was “disgusting,” a victim told him.
Another victim said that Palosaari said being a council member comes with “prestige,” which appears to shape why he thinks he is above the law and common decency.
Palosaari was given the opportunity to discuss the investigation privately, but refused. He attended the meeting remotely, refusing to appear in person or even on screen.
After being sworn in on Dec. 19, Mathews managed to disgrace his office in less than an hour by his refusal to condemn the man who proposed putting him on council.
Meanwhile, DuVernay and DeWillis, a pair who apparently want to stop drag show performers from possibly exposing children to sexual imagery, have no problem when an actual, real predator with documented predatory behavior is in their midst, sitting on the chair beside them. After all, his sexual harassment is directed at adults, which is fine now apparently, this pair declared.
Their hypocrisy is a joke and their “morality” a lie. Their apology is insufficient unless accompanied by Palosaari’s resignation.
More pitiful still is DeWillis, who directly questioned Palosaari: “I’m gonna ask you point blank: Did you do any of these things?”
A council is not a judicial body. It is not a law enforcement agency, it is a political body, so Palosaari isn’t on “trial,” not under oath and faces no penalty for perjury, so “No” is the only right answer. Either it’s true or it’s a lie.
Instead, Palosaari said, “Any attorney would tell me not to say anything and I’m not going to because ‘they’re’ going to use it against me.”
That’s not a “no” — it is tantamount to an admission of guilt. Given the evidence and Palosaari’s previous admission of guilt, DeWillis should have made the motion to condemn right then. But he didn’t.
Instead, faced with this weaseling, DeWillis said that it was “good enough for him.”
Given the evidence, given the number of victims, how can such council members hear that answer and look at their wives or daughters afterward?
Will these members of Cottonwood’s City Council really put more than 100 staffers at risk just to maintain a voting majority?
Is women’s safety so cheap?
Is that the lesson you want Cottonwood’s residents to learn?
Council must condemn, unanimously, unequivocally, immediately. Palosaari must resign.
If not, what are you telling our daughters? What are you teaching our sons?
