Town attorney's report details sexual harassment allegations that led to Lockport mayor's resignation

Former Lockport Mayor Ed Reinhardt is accused of sending an employee “repeated, unwanted communications that were sexual in nature,” according to the town attorney's investigative report.

Reinhardt, 72, who served as the town’s mayor since 2016, resigned earlier this week amid allegations he sexually harassed an employee.

A Nov. 5 report compiled by Lockport Town Attorney Christopher Huddleston alleges Reinhardt sent the unnamed female employee sexually suggestive notes. The alleged harassment began in May 2020, Huddleston said.

The Courier and Daily Comet obtained the report as the result of a public records request.

The report was delivered to the Town Council Tuesday night.

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“Initially, he told her that he had been attracted to her since about eight years ago,” Huddleston wrote in his report. “He told her that back then she mentioned to him that she found him attractive also. Complainant does not remember having made the comment. The mayor then began leaving complainant notes on her desk in the office.”

The report also accuses Reinhardt of sending the employee inappropriate text messages and sticky notes.

“I'm going to steal me a kiss soon!” one of the messages reads, according to the report. “And Hug! Its coming and you know it! I want you bad! I’m going to grab that fine a- - and lay a kiss on you that you never going to forget!”

At first the employee pretended she hadn’t seen the notes and feared for her job, Huddleston said.

“Complainant states she felt scared and tried to pretend she hadn’t seen the notes when the mayor asked her about them,” the report says. “She showed them to the town clerk, who asked if she wanted them to be brought to the town attorney. Complainant declined because she did not want to lose her job.”

The former mayor also gave the employee cash, shoes and a ring as his harassment continued, the report alleges.

“On Friday afternoons when she was the only employee in the office, complainant states the mayor would visit her and make inappropriate suggestions to her,” according to the report.

The employee also alleged the mayor made suggestive gestures toward her.

"She states that she became so concerned about being alone with the mayor that she asked other people to stay in the office with her those afternoons to run interference," Huddleston wrote. She also would go down the hall to talk to the other people in the building to avoid the mayor. She says the mayor would wait for her and ask her for a hug or kiss before she left the building.”

When confronted with the evidence brought forth in the investigation, Reinhardt admitted to having sent the text messages, leaving the notes and engaging in the inappropriate communications over an extended period of time while denying some of the specifics of the allegations, the report says.

“He confirmed that there was never a physical relationship between he and the complainant,” Huddleston wrote.

Based on the evidence he found in his investigation, Huddleston recommended that the mayor step down.

“The mayor’s behavior was ongoing, egregious and inappropriate to any work environment, especially a governmental office,” Huddleston says in his report. “If the mayor were an employee, my recommendation would unequivocally be immediate termination. However, the mayor is an elected official, and as such is not subject to termination. Once elected to office, an elected official can only be removed by a recall election, after conviction of a crime, by loss in a future election or by resignation.

"This puts the town in a dubious position. It is in the town’s best interest that the harasser be removed from the situation but the only person in the immediate position to remove the harasser from the situation is the harasser himself.”

Reinhardt’s resignation was announced Tuesday night during the Lockport Town Council meeting. Former Mayor Paul Champagne was then appointed to serve as interim mayor until a special election is held in November 2022.

In an email Thursday, Reinhardt said he chose to step down.

“There are two sides to every story,” he said. “I became the target of controversial accusations. This is an ethics violation, not a criminal offense. My lawyer is handling this matter. I had a choice to retire or stay. I love the town of Lockport and appreciate the support of my family, friends and supporters. I chose to retire. It was my choice so the town can stay focused on recovering from Hurricane Ida and improving the quality of life for the people of the town.”

— Staff Writer Dan Copp can be reached at 448-7639 or at dan.copp@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanVCopp.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Report details sexual harassment allegations against Ed Reinhardt