Report: Pickaway County mayor harassed employee
WILLIAMSPORT, Ohio (WCMH) — A small village in Pickaway County has spent thousands of dollars to look into the behavior of its mayor, behavior that includes issues of sexual and verbal harassment.
The investigation cost Williamsport almost $13,000 and says an outside lawyer found enough evidence to substantiate the claims that the mayor, Tim Bush, behaved inappropriately. However, even after the investigation’s release, some village employees said nothing has changed.
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“I gave my heart and soul to this place and to give yourself like that and have someone treat you this way has been very bad for me,” Williamsport Fiscal Officer Tracey Garrett said. “It’s been disheartening, really.”
Garrett brought complaints to council over the way she said Bush treated her.
“I just let them know how uncomfortable I was with his coming at me, talking about me saying the vulgar things he was saying made me feel uncomfortable,” Garrett said. “We’d go on training. He’d make vulgar comments in front of all the other council people.”
According to the report, Garrett alleges the harassment happened over three separate encounters with Bush from 2022 and 2023, when Bush was a council member. He was elected mayor in November 2023.
She wasn’t the only one. In the investigation, other council members spoke out against Bush. One said that his behavior made her uncomfortable, and another said his behavior caused their relationship to deteriorate.
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“I was on edge every time I was around him,” Garrett said. “So, they then… when we went to our solicitor and he recommended that we do a private investigation.”
An outside law firm looked into Bush’s “alleged inappropriate conduct and sexual harassment” from 2022-2023. The investigation started in late August and included interviews with council members and village staff.
“Any time an allegation is brought up, by law, we have to investigate,” Williamsport Councilmember Mary Beth Poe said. “So unfortunately, yes, it’s a lot of money, but I think a mayor should have good character, moral character. And I don’t know if he thinks he’s cute or what that he uses that language.”
The language mentioned in the report includes profanity, screaming and vulgar words.
“He was talking about my body,” Garrett said. “He was saying that I have an odor in my personal area, is how I can put it politely. And I told him that I didn’t and that I take a shower daily and then I’m clean. And how would you know?”
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“We went to Portsmouth for a workshop and I was in the front seat, but it just seemed like everything he talked about was pretty vulgar, about sexual stuff,” Poe said.
According to the report, Bush said he apologized in one swearing situation and denied saying vulgar statements in another.
NBC4 caught up with him before the council meeting on Feb. 5.
NBC4 Reporter Isabel Cleary: “The village conducted an investigation that was about $13,000 that said there were some findings that said you behaved inappropriately at work…”
Williamsport Mayor Tim Bush: “It wasn’t. They didn’t find that. If so, I would be in court. Oh, wait a minute. I’m supposed to plead the Fifth and I’m not supposed to talk to you guys.”
Cleary: “Do you have any response to the findings in the report or what comes next?”
Bush: “No, thank you.”
According to the report, Bush claims the allegations are politically motivated and an effort to take away his office.
“They [the remaining Council members and Garrett] have been trying to get rid of me,” the report quotes Bush as saying.
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After the report was released, council signed a resolution to authorize Garrett to work from home.
“I was a nervous wreck for a while now, even during the investigation,” she said. “It was very disheartening. A lot of tears shed, a lot of tears, a lot of stress, trying to keep my mind on my job. I’m at my wit’s end with that because I am a human. I do have feelings and I’m not going to allow people to be rude and obnoxious to me.”
The investigation recommends multiple next steps including an Ohio Ethics investigation. Sexual harassment and anti-retaliation trainings are expected to take place in late February and mid-March.
The full investigation report can be read below. WARNING: The report does contain some off-color language.
Village-of-Williamsport-Employment-Investigation_812031232Download
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