A member of the City Council of St. Paul violated policy, investigation finds

The mass email of a member of the City Council of the City of St. Paul about a former employee constituted “harassing and harassing conduct,” an outside investigator wrote in a report.

Ward 7 Councilmember Cheniqua Johnson filed a complaint against Ward 1 Councilmember Anika Bowie in October with the city’s human resources office. In the complaint, Johnson said Bowie sent an email to Johnson and several top city employees about someone Johnson hired to work in her office.

Johnson said she believed the email constituted harassment under board policies, and the 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 adversely affected (expletive) and CM Johnson, rises to the level of offensive conduct, harassment, and prohibited harassment as defined by the city’s workplace conduct policy.”

The Minnesota Star Tribune obtained Soldo’s report through a city Data Practices Act request, and much of the report and supporting documents are redacted, including the employee’s name and most of the details 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 I do not take lightly, having to disclose serious concerns about . . .”

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

In an Oct. 25 response, Johnson wrote that Bowie’s allegations included “Unauthorized expenditures and misappropriation of travel funds” and suggested an audit of the finances of Bowie’s Ward 1 office. Johnson said Bowie had made no effort to bring his discussed concerns about the employee before sending the email, and Johnson filed a complaint against Bowie on Oct. 26.