St. Paul City Council member violated policy, investigation finds

A St. Paul City Council member's mass email about a former employee constituted "bullying and harassing behavior," an outside investigator wrote in a report.

Ward 7 Council Member Cheniqua Johnson filed a complaint against Ward 1 Council Member Anika Bowie in October with the city human resources office. In the complaint, Johnson said Bowie sent an email to Johnson and several high-ranking city staff about someone Johnson hired to work in her office.

Johnson said she thought that email constituted bullying under to the council's policies, and outside investigator, attorney Michelle Soldo of Woodbury, agreed.

"There was no objectively valid or productive business reason for CM Bowie to publicly disseminate the email to 11 recipients," Soldo wrote in a report filed with the city. "CM Bowie's conduct, which negatively impacted [redacted] and CM Johnson, rises to the level of prohibited offensive, bullying and harassing behavior as defined by the City's Workplace Conduct policy."

The Minnesota Star Tribune obtained Soldo's report through a Data Practices Act request with the city, and large portions of the report and supporting documents are redacted, including the name of the hire and most of the specifics of Bowie's allegations. Neither Bowie nor Johnson could be reached for comment Thursday.

Bowie sent an email Oct. 21 to 10 city staff members and copied Johnson about the employee. The email begins: "I find myself in a position that I do not take lightly, having to disclose serious concerns about — "

The rest of the three-page email is blacked out, including several bullet points and subheadings.

In a response dated Oct. 25, Johnson wrote that Bowie's allegations included "Unauthorized Spending and Misappropriation of Travel Funds," and suggested an audit of the finances of Bowie's Ward 1 office. Johnson said Bowie did not make an effort to bring up her concerns about the employee before sending the email, and Johnson filed her complaint against Bowie on Oct. 26.

In a statement Dec. 23, Johnson connected the back-and-forth to a Dec. 9 article in the Pioneer Press that said Bowie had fired an aide who was subsequently re-hired by Johnson.

Soldo wrote in a Dec. 10 report that she saw Bowie's email as bullying, as defined by council policy and a statement of norms and conduct that all seven council members signed when they took office at the beginning of the year.

Soldo looked into Bowie's allegations about the former employee, she wrote, but did not substantiate them.