After report, Wilkinson feels vindicated, Valenzuela disappointed

Editor’s note: This is the last of a three-part series on the findings of an independent investigation on allegations made by Sgt. Henry Valenzuela against thenCity Administrator Greg Wilkinson. While the first part focused on the retaliation accusation and the second part reported on the other allegations made by Valenzuela, this third part centers on the reaction from Valenzuela and Wilkinson to the investigation findings.

Former City Administrator Greg Wilkinson says he feels vindicated and Sgt. Henry Valenzuela says he is disappointed with the findings of an independent investigation into accusations of retaliation and other actions allegedly made by Wilkinson against Valenzuela.

The June 11 investigative report by Pamela Walsma of the Yuma law firm Hunt, Walsma & Gale cleared Wilkinson of wrongdoing on all allegations, but critics are questioning how independent the investigation really was since the city administrator recommended Walsma for the role of investigator.

Walsma’s six-page report, dated June 11, lists each of the eight alleged actions and her findings.

“It came out exactly as I thought it would, completely clearing me of all the allegations, but it was still nice to see that confirmed,” Wilkinson said.

“The report was disappointing for several reasons,” Valenzuela said. “During the two-month investigation, five people were interviewed, but the report does not document a single question they were asked, nor does it document their response to those questions. Many witnesses were not interviewed at all. The report is completely silent about my primary complaint: Greg Wilkinson retaliating and causing a hostile work environment. The report is a summary of conclusions drawn, and the opinion of, the attorney who did the investigation.”

On April 9, Valenzuela filed an internal Human Resources complaint alleging that Wilkinson retaliated against him for asking questions, making presentations,

posting videos on YouTube and questions on Facebook regarding the Pacific Avenue Athletic Complex and city financial issues.

WAS IT AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION?

Following publication of Walsma’s report, Wilkinson’s critics immediately raised flags about the credibility of the attorney hired to conduct the investigation. They questioned whether Walsma could truly be unbiased when Wilkinson chose her for the investigation and she is a hearing officer for the city.

Wilkinson said he expected his critics would “attack Walsma’s integrity,” and he defended her character. “Ms. Walsma is an outside independent attorney, and it would be unwise to also question her integrity.”

Wilkinson said he recommended Walsma to Monica Welch, the city’s director of human resources, as HR has used her in these types of situations before. However, he noted, “(Welch) did the hiring and I had no discussions with Walsma.”

He explained that the city and HR have been using Walsma since at least 2001 “and she has always shown the highest integrity in doing these types of investigations.”

She hears appeals for the Community Development Department on land use and other issues as well as serves as a hearing officer for the Merit System Board.

“In this role, she is considered the legal counsel that presides over a hearing that was brought forward in an appeal to a disciplinary action of an employee,” Welch said.

However, some community members say these connections and the fact that Wilkinson suggested her discredits the investigation.

Now-retired Police Chief John Lekan said that when he was interviewed by Walsma, he asked Welch, who was present, who had chosen Walsma. He said Welch replied that it had been Wilkinson. Lekan felt disappointed but “moved on” because “Greg has the authority to do this.”

However, he doesn’t question Walsma’s integrity. “I’m not here to judge whether Pam had a bias. I would hope not,” Lekan said.

But he noted that it did not look good. “It made no sense. I don’t get to pick who investigates me.”

RESIGNATION

During the investigation, on April 25, Wilkinson announced his retirement, following an outcry from citizens after Lekan stated during a call to the public that he did not approve a Sworn Supervisor of the Year award for Valenzuela because he felt Wilkinson threatened police pay raises if Valenzuela received the award.

Wilkinson denied threatening the pay raises and said he felt that he was being set up because Valenzuela had been the only one nominated for the award, which was very unusual.

“I don’t know if that’s ever happened,” Wilkinson said.

Lekan denies the award was part of a conspiracy. “There was no setup on this,” Lekan said. “The only unusual part was that the nominee was Henry, which caused me to pause, stop, consult with my deputy chief (now Police Chief Susan Smith) and decided to call Greg.

“My impression was that he was telling us, telling me, in the event Henry got an award, you can forget about the pay raises,” Lekan added. “That was enough for me. I called it more of a consequence, I didn’t view it as a threat, a consequence that wouldn’t be acceptable. As far as I was concerned, it was a direct order.”

Smith was on vacation until Wednesday and did not respond to a request for comment.

Wilkinson’s resignation pleased Valenzuela. “He resigned within two weeks of me filing this complaint, but I am not sure if my detailed complaint had anything to do with him resigning,” Valenzuela said.

However, Wilkinson said he retired because his critics had started attacking his wife, Nicolle. “It was incessant. They started going after my wife, all nasty and mean. It didn’t matter that everything was the truth. It got to a point that I thought it was hurting the community … I’ve always been about doing the best thing for the community,” Wilkinson said.

“I thought if I retired, that some of it would stop, but it’s gotten worse,” he added.

CYBERSTALKING?

Wilkinson was also concerned that his critics might be cyberstalking his wife, an observation mentioned by Walsma. The attorney stated: “It is troubling that the City Administrator’s wife’s Facebook page was monitored and her posts re-posted by individuals adverse to the City Administrator.”

The comment was made in response to an allegation by Valenzuela that a Facebook post by Nicolle Wilkinson had been a threat of physical violence and directed or approved by Greg Wilkinson.

Walsma noted: “Considering the First Amendment rights of Nicolle Wilkinson, the fact that she is not a City employee, there is no evidence that Greg Wilkinson had any involvement in the post or that it was related to Sgt. Henry Valenzuela, this claim is unsubstantiated,” the report reads.

“The item that did concern me was that a police officer was cyberstalking my wife. That should concern everyone,” Wilkinson said. “Think about that. A police officer was cyberstalking my wife.”

Valenzuela, an Army National Guardsman, told the Yuma Sun that he did not monitor Ms. Wilkinson’s Facebook page. “When she made a threat by saying I was a ‘cocky soldier’ and saying a Marine was waiting for the ‘opportune moment’ to slit my throat, a friend warned me about the threat. I filed the HR complaint within a few days of the threat,” he explained.

Nicolle Wilkinson told the Yuma Sun that she and her husband had been binge-watching military programming on Netflix when she posted about a Marine.

Nicolle Wilkinson said she didn’t know Valenzuela was a soldier and that her husband is a retired Marine and she would never threaten anyone who serves their country.

POLICY CHANGE

Wilkinson also commented on Valenzuela’s allegation that city employee conduct policies changed without notice in response to Valenzuela’s questions. He asserted that Wilkinson directed these actions.

The policy specifically addresses political activity and outside employment, among other things. Walsma reported that Wilkinson did not direct or interfere with HR actions in relation to Valenzuela’s questions.

“This is when he was trying to take out a political action committee to do a recall or for him to run for council while he was still a city employee. Of course, he didn’t think that he doesn’t live in the city and it is also against state law to collect government pay and be elected official,” Wilkinson said.

However, Valenzuela clarified that he does live in Yuma and has lived in the city most of his life. He also noted: “I never started a political action committee in order to recall any elected official. If I had done so, it would be a public record. I have never started a campaign or a political action committee to run for any elected position,” Valenzuela said.

Wilkinson told the Yuma Sun that Valenzuela had been encouraging officers to leave the YPD and recommended officers to recruiters with other agencies “to make the numbers look worse (and) pressure council into instituting the pay plan.”

Valenzuela said that an officer who applied to the Peoria Police Department had put him down as a reference. “He told me this after he had applied. I had a contact at Peoria PD, so I sent her an email telling her this officer was a good officer and that he would be a good officer if they hired him. I did not do this on a regular basis, nor was I trying to create an employee crisis,” he said.

NOW WHAT?

Valenzuela says he will continue to analyze the city’s budget and other financial documents, “but I have chosen to be less public about my findings.”

He looks forward to working with the new city administration. “I hope to rebuild some relationships I may have damaged over the last year or so. I am pleased by some changes in the way the new city administration is interacting with the public, choosing to answer questions, and correcting errors in financial documents. I am optimistic about the future,” Valenzuela said.

Wilkinson said he doesn’t regret leaving city government, but that he does worry about the employees as he had tried to serve as a buffer to protect them against harassment from city critics.

However, he does not plan to leave Yuma, which he has called home since 1982. He sees no reason to move as has done nothing wrong, he said. “If I had done something wrong, this would be one thing, but everything they said about the PAAC, it’s been proven not to be true. Everything they came forward with is not true.”

Wilkinson said he is not ready to truly retire and is working on a project but is not ready to make his plans public.