Pierce County auditor candidate quit job in that office rather than be suspended 3 years ago

Editor’s note: This story inadvertently published online earlier today before it was ready due to a technical error.

Damon Townsend is running for Pierce County auditor, seeking to oversee the department he resigned from three years ago after being put on notice he was to be suspended for conduct unbecoming a county employee, public records show.

Townsend, the county’s elections specialist and supervisor, quit in August 2019, following an incident where he was found to be disruptive during a supervisors training session and got angry with Human Resources personnel.

Townsend said in an interview Tuesday he had issues with how personnel matters were handled while he worked for the Pierce County auditor’s department.

“It came to a head when I was in the supervisory training,” he said. “Every time they would present something you’re supposed to do as a supervisor, I said, ‘Well, as a staff member this is what I experienced,’ and they got tired of me asking them questions. They told me the next morning that I needed to shut up and just pay attention to the class.”

The primary election is Aug. 2. Townsend, who has served as an election consultant since 2019, is running against Deryl McCarty, a former deputy auditor for Pierce County and U.S. Air Force colonel, and Linda Farmer, a Lakewood City Council member. The auditor oversees elections, licensing services and public records. The election supervisor and specialists work in the Auditor’s Office.

The News Tribune is working to obtain personnel records available for Townsend, McCarty and Farmer from their previous government jobs. It had not received those records as of Thursday.

The incident that led to Townsend’s resignation was on the second day of Supervisors Essentials training on May 21, 2019, according to an investigation file The News Tribune obtained through a public records request. The multi-day training is a leadership certificate course hosted by HR for Pierce County supervisors and managers and had about 20 employees present.

Townsend was pulled aside on the second day of training by Brent Long, then-senior labor relations analyst, to discuss Townsend’s disruptive behavior during the first training day. Townsend monopolized the time asking questions specific to him and went on long diatribes. He was agitated, tapping his foot and shifting around, the presenters reported. They said Townsend’s demeanor was “unusual” and “unique” for a public setting. One presenter said participants were showing signs of discomfort, annoyance and exasperation, and they were starting to disengage, due to Townsend’s behavior.

Townsend and Long had never met before May 21 but had spoken on the phone once or twice when Townsend petitioned to rejoin the union, which caused his insurance coverage to lapse for a month. Townsend said Long left a voicemail that insinuated that he asked not to have health insurance. It was an unpleasant memory for Townsend, the investigation report by Cathryn Dammel of Dammel Law stated. Long was unaware Townsend blamed him for the insurance issue when they met to discuss Townsend’s behavior at the training session.

Long spoke to Townsend in the office of Maura Maye, employee development specialist. Maye stayed in the office. Long told Townsend that he was glad to have him in class and wanted him to ask questions, but if he became disruptive, he would need to ask him to leave. Long reported Townsend interrupted, exploding in anger and using expletives.

According to the investigation report published June 23, 2019, Long said in his 30 years as a human resources professional, he had never seen anyone go so fast from 0 to 100. He reported Townsend’s face got red, his body movements quickened and he was very agitated and unprofessional.

Long and Maye told Townsend to return to his work site. He gathered his belongings and left without further incident. Maye said Townsend “never came down.” He was hostile and angry, and showed no signs of fear or that he felt unsafe or uncomfortable, she reported.

Townsend reported initially to Dammel, who was hired to investigate the incident, that he did not recall using profanity and that the conversation was a blur. He later said he might have used profanities.

Townsend said he believes he was simply asking questions of how he had been disruptive. Townsend admitted his regular speaking voice is loud. Townsend said Long had a reputation for firing county employees and feared he was being set up to be fired.

Dammel wrote it was more likely than not that Townsend used expletives and otherwise acted inappropriately during the May 21, 2019, interaction. A reasonable person would have treated Long with the utmost respect, attentiveness and humility, but Townsend’s behavior was quite the opposite, even according to him, Dammel stated.

Townsend said in an interview with The News Tribune he has dealt with conflict in high-stress situations as the election supervisor. He said the way to address any conflict is to sit down, talk and have open communication. While a county employee, concerns were addressed through a follow-up letter, not a conversation, he said.

“If I have conflict within the office, the most important thing to know is that they have an open door, they have somebody who will listen to them, they have somebody who will actually address their concerns and be an advocate for them instead of a passive observer,“ he said.

The county intended to suspend him without pay for two days for conduct unbecoming of a county employee on July 31, 2019. In the notice, chief deputy auditor Cindy Hartman wrote Townsend had received no disciplinary action for the past three years but had been coached to lower his voice. A goal-setting document stated he needed to focus on controlling his own responses during stressful situations. The notice also directed Townsend to attend Developing Your Emotional Intelligence training and day two of the Supervisory Essentials training without negative behavior.

Townsend sent a letter of resignation Aug. 1. He was put on administrative leave for the duration of his employment, through Aug. 15, 2019.

Townsend said he was already planning to run for auditor this year when Julie Anderson hit her term limits.

Throughout his five-year career at Pierce County, Townsend told The News Tribune he was treated poorly by the Human Resources department and not supported by leadership in the Auditor’s Office. He wants to make the Auditor’s Office a better workplace, he said.

Townsend said he was unable to use his vacation for two years, accruing 400 hours of paid time off. He also said HR would not make an exception to the bereavement leave policy when his grandfather died because the memorial was more than 14 days after the death.

“I felt like that they weren’t fair,” he said. “I decided the best thing is just to step away, collect my vacation pay and build up my resume and come back later to fix it, in my opinion, the right way.”