Well, City Manager Julio Avael is again involved in what our British friends would call a "butt-up."
Last week, rightly or wrongly, he decided to fire Catherine Harding, who has headed the city's licensing, permitting and code enforcement functions since November 1999. Citing "too many complaints", Avael asked Harding to resign "for personal reasons."
"I refused to resign because I did nothing wrong," she said. "In fact, I feel I brought professionalism and accountability to Key West's Building Dept."
When Harding showed up for work on Monday, however, Assistant City Manager John Jones delivered a letter of termination and told her to turn in her keys.
But when City Attorney Bob Tischenkel returned from vacation, he was horrified to learn to learn that Harding had been fired without "due process." So a chagrined Avael had to tell Harding that he had just been kidding about firing her and that he really meant to just suspend her with pay pending a predetermination hearing— which he would conduct behind closed doors and that he alone would be acting as judge and jury.
Harding says she will fight to save her job and she has hired the Miami law firm of Steel, Hector and Davis to help her.
"I intend to fully present my case at the hearing and to carry the fight beyond that tribunal should the need arise," she said. "I am not fighting merely to keep a job; I am fighting this because it is wrong, and I think the citizens of Key West will feel the same way once all the facts are known.
"I hope to vindicate not only my position, but accountability and good government for the City of Key West."
To see what kind of case Avael has against Harding, we asked last Monday to look at her personnel file, as well as any complaint and correspondence files. We were told that they would not be available until Wednesday or Thursday.
Why the delay, we wondered, unless Avael needed the time to "doctor" those files. Why would we even think something like that? Because Avael has a history of "making up" charges when he wants to fire somebody, that's why.
You do remember the famous "Blue Book" of charges he manufactured to justify the firing of former Police Chief Ray Peterson, don't you? A classic example of dishonesty and deceit in government. This is why it's such a joke when Avael tries to sell his "Trust In Government" mumbo-jumbo.
Here's an example of one of the "charges" in the Blue Book: Avael said Peterson should be fired because he couldn't control his officers. It seems that one of Peterson's lieutenants wrote a dumb letter to the newspapers suggesting that the firing of guns in Bahama Village on New Year's Eve was a "cultural" thing. Avael reprimanded Peterson for "allowing" the officer to write the letter. We're not making this up.
Another Blue Book charge: Peterson, like many community leaders here, wrote a letter to a judge recommending leniency for a prominent hotelier who had been arrested for hitting on a young boy at a school bus stop. Avael said that the letter represented de facto support for the man's crime— and, therefore, Peterson should be fired.
Yet, just a year or so ago, Avael approved the promotion to captain of an Key West Police officer who had been fired from the Sheriff's Office after it was learned that he had had an affair with a 17-year-old boy. And the officer had failed to mention that when he applied for a job with the KWPD. But Avael knew the whole story when he approved the promotion.
Does the word "hypocrite" come to mind?
As part of the final settlement with Peterson, city officials had to admit, in writing, that all of the charges in the Blue Book were "unfounded." Yet Avael, knowing that they were unfounded, had used those charges to force Peterson out.
When we finally had the opportunity to look at Harding's files, we found several memos dated in early 2000 that Avael had written "to file." In one of these memos, dated Feb. 28, 2000, Avael writes: "As of today, Catherine has managed to be late six of ten months in forwarding her monthly reports. Three months' reports are missing; therefore, she has not met the reporting requirements in eight of ten months of reporting periods."
Did Avael really write that memo back in February 2000— or did he write it within the last few days, back-date it and "plant" it in Harding's file?
We think that had he really written it back in February 2000, he would have probably remembered that Harding had only been on the job since November 1, 1999— only about four months before the date of the memo.
"I requested a copy of my file late last year," Harding told Key West The Newspaper Wednesday. "Those memos weren't there."
Another scathing memo we saw in the files was written by consultant Paul Clayton. Clayton had been assigned by Avael back in October of last year to spend some time in Harding's department and to make some recommendations to make her operation more efficient and effective. We understand that Clayton was doing this with a number of departments.
Clayton's undated memo blasted Harding for being uncooperative.
"I never saw or heard of that memo," Harding said Wednesday. "And Avael never mentioned it."
Is it possible that, within the past few days, Avael asked Clayton to write that back-stabbing memo to help "salt" Harding's file with poison? And maybe Clayton did what he was told— but had enough integrity not to back-date it. So he didn't date it at all.
You may recall that it was Paul Clayton who called on newly-elected City Commissioner Tom Oosterhoudt and tried to bully him into line as a "team player." He reportedly threatened Oosterhoudt that, if he didn't fall into line, he would be a one-term commissioner.
When Oosterhoudt went public with the threat, suggesting that Clayton was simply a messenger from Avael, Clayton back-pedaled, claiming that he had gone to see Oosterhoudt on his own— but admitting that he had reported back to Avael about the meeting.
We also saw a memo in Harding's file that Assistant Manager Jones had written to Avael on March 26, 2001. "I regret that she appears not able to cope with the position," Jones wrote.
"By that time, they had already decided to fire me," Harding said, "but they needed more ammunition. I understand that they had already told Charles Stephenson that he had my job.
"I am surprised, however, that John Jones would write that kind of memo unless he was under pressure. He was always very supportive."
We have no tears to shed for Catherine Harding. We have criticized her here while the other media have been giving her a free ride. But if, in an effort to fire her for whatever reasons, Avael is up to his old Blue Book tricks again, he should be exposed.
Stay tuned.