The city and City Attorney Helene Leichter announced Monday that
they have resolved Leichter
’s concerns over the city’s handling of an accusation of
impropriety made against her by Councilwoman Hedy Chang, but it
will cost the city dearly. The settlement requires the city to pay
Leichter $25,000 and her attorney $15,000. Leichter will have to
pay state and federal income taxes on the m
oney.
The city and City Attorney Helene Leichter announced Monday that they have resolved Leichter’s concerns over the city’s handling of an accusation of impropriety made against her by Councilwoman Hedy Chang, but it will cost the city dearly.
The settlement requires the city to pay Leichter $25,000 and her attorney $15,000. Leichter will have to pay state and federal income taxes on the money.
It also allows her to work from home two days a week through the end of the year and to take – one time only – an additional seven weeks’ vacation.
The check is for “emotional distress and physical injury,” the settlement said.
On Leichter’s part, she agrees not to sue the city over its handling of Chang’s accusation and swears that she currently has no complaint pending in any court or agency against Chang. The agreement does allow Leichter to file a future complaint against Chang’s conduct “while acting in her personal capacity and outside the course of her position with the City Council.”
Chang had alleged that Leichter was having an affair with City Manager Ed Tewes, and that, as a result, Leichter’s professional judgment had been improperly influenced by Tewes, both of which Tewes and Leichter have strongly and repeatedly denied.
Chang’s allegations were loosely tied to her one-time attorney Bruce Tichinin hiring a private investigator to follow Tewes on an out-of-town trip, trying to discover proof of the affair. Tichinin said he did not hire the investigator on Chang’s behalf but on that of Howard Vierra, a client and business partner. The pair were disturbed that Leichter had changed her mind from backing their proposal to develop a 4.5-acre plot of land at the end of West Main Avenue to siding with Tewes’ opposing opinion.
The reason for her change, Tichinin claimed, could have been an affair.
Chang also has denied that the investigator was hired on her behalf but, during the course of the City Council’s investigation over who was following Tewes, rumors of the affair were found to have circulated widely. A Council-approved report, written by a subcommittee of Councilmen Larry Carr and Greg Sellers, was released on July 2 setting off the city-wide furor.
To date the investigation has caused the city to be presented with bills totaling at least $100,000; the agreement raises that again by half and does not included the city’s legal fees contending with Leichter’s settlement.
Mayor Dennis Kennedy, in a statement released by the city, said he believes the accusations were wrong.
“As we stated in our Council Resolution of July 14, 2004,” Kennedy said, “the City Council proceeds from the belief that the accusations made against the City Attorney are entirely unfounded and without evidentiary support of any kind.”
The statement also reiterated what a Council resolution of July 14 said, that “the Council has a duty to provide a safe, harassment free working environment for employees.”
Kennedy said, in the press release, that he is confident the City has appropriately handled the effects of Chang’s accusations.
He said Monday he was under orders from the city’s attorney, Bill McClure of Jorgenson, Siegel, McClure & Flegel, to make no further comment about the settlement. In fact, the settlement orders that no further statement be made by any council member, city employee, official, representative or Leichter.
Chang was unavailable Monday and could not be reached for comment.
“The press release speaks for itself,” Kennedy said.
McClure said the settlement, too, would speak for itself.
Carr said Monday that council at a closed session Wednesday gave Kennedy permission to sign the agreement once Leichter signed it. She signed on Thursday Sept. 23, Kennedy on Monday. Carr and Councilman Steve Tate comprised the council subcommittee that hammered out the agreement with the city’s attorneys, Leichter and her attorneys.
In Monday’s press release on the settlement, Leichter made her first public comment on the issue since her original denial of the affair.
“I am deeply saddened by the spectacle this situation has created in our community,” Leichter said in the release. “I have worked hard to achieve my professional goals, upholding the highest legal ethics. I have also worked hard to build a loving and supportive family. These attacks have been tremendously hurtful both professionally and personally. I take great comfort in the public support offered by the citizens of the City of Morgan Hill, Mayor Kennedy, and Council members Larry Carr, Greg Sellers and Steve Tate. While these events may have sounded like a soap opera to some, the wounds from the unfounded accusations are real.”
In the press release, the council said it acknowledges Leichter’s “exceptional skills as the city attorney, and her valuable long-term service to the City. Both parties look forward to a continuing work relationship.”
