Report: Inappropriate email but no sexual harassment

Mattusch admitted he sent Brennan an email containing sexually explicit pictures during his initial campaign as a commissioner. But the investigation report authored by attorney Mary Topliff said “Brennan’s allegations regarding sexual harassment are more likely than not unfounded.”

Brennan, who submitted a complaint regarding the email in October, expressed dissatisfaction with Mattusch and an investigation process she considered flawed and biased.

“He hasn’t truly apologized and there is no accountability or disciplinary action that the board majority is recommending,” she said.

Mattusch meanwhile acknowledged sending the email was a poor choice.

“I shouldn’t have sent them,” he said of the pictures. “It was something that I should not have done. But I’m not denying that I sent it.”

Mattusch sent the sexually explicit pictures via email to Brennan, with a blind carbon copy to dozens of others, in June 2014 when she was helping with his campaign, according to the report and Mattusch. Brennan said she considers the email a form of harassment, and has called for Mattusch to be held accountable.

In lieu of a recommendation in the investigation to punish Mattusch for sending the email, Brennan called for the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors to intervene and request he step down.

“I don’t think it is too much to expect the Board of Supervisors hold a countywide official accountable when they behave this type of way, but I think that would appropriate,” she said of her suggestion that supervisors send a letter requesting Mattusch’s resignation.

Dave Pine, president of the Board of Supervisors, said he considered such action unlikely.

“I don’t foresee the Board of Supervisors intervening in the dispute between the two commissioners,” he said, while noting he had not yet seen the report.

For his part, Mattusch said he has no plans to resign.

Beyond the inappropriate email, the investigation report lays out a variety of other allegations by Brennan against Mattusch furthering her sexual harassment claims.

The conclusion though finds that Mattusch likely “did not engage in severe and pervasive sexually offensive conduct towards Brennan in her capacity as commissioner or during her tenure as commissioner.”

Brennan, meanwhile, questioned the credibility of the investigator, claiming the process has been mismanaged from the jump which only compounds her concerns regarding the district.

“When you don’t have a good process and a transparent process it just continues the culture of harassment,” she said.

Previously, Brennan has expressed concerns that the district does not outline a clear policy for investigating complaints of sexual harassment and retaliation. She noted state lawmakers are also working on developing a process at the Capitol and suggested more people should be involved in vetting who is chosen to investigate complaints at the Harbor District. She said the California Special Districts Association should establish better guidance on how agencies handle these types of situations.

Brennan recently traveled and spoke to lawmakers in Sacramento regarding her concerns about sexual harassment, and called on them further to take the lead in compelling change at local levels.

Looking ahead, Brennan said she is hopeful the Harbor District will change its policy to follow in the footsteps of the state Legislature.

“There is a lot of things we could do, but that would mean our board would want to be proactive and take measures to put a stop to this harassment culture. It takes the will of the board to do that. And the Senate and Assembly are supporting significant improvements to their process and looking at it very carefully. And I think that’s what all agencies ought to be doing in light of what is going on here,” she said.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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