GRANTS PASS, Ore. —An incident at a Josephine County meeting has a commissioner in hot water. Josephine County Commissioner, Dan DeYoung is now facing backlash after making what appeared to be an inappropriate comment toward a female staff member. Now the county employee is responding.
“Sit on my lap, go ahead Sandy, I’ll give you my chair,” said DeYoung during a meeting last week to County Finance Director, Sandy Novak. Novak responded, “No thank you.”
“Mr. DeYoung was very comfortable being very disrespectful in a room full of my peers, no one who saw the video could deny that. This was not an isolated incident, the number one comment I received coming out of there was that’s just Dan being Dan,” said Novak.
She addressed the board of commissioners during a county weekly business session Wednesday morning.
“My job is the business of the county, not the business of elections, or making an individual look good or look bad, I will let you all look good or bad all by yourself,” said Novak.
DeYoung apologized during the business session and in the days following the comment, telling NBC5 News that he can be a smart alec, which was unprofessional.
“I was joking, I didn’t mean anything serious about it,” he explained. “Did she take offense to it? Yes. Were there maybe a couple of other people that took offense to it? Yes. I’ve apologized to the person involved and that is just kinda the way it is and that’s what I‘ll stand on.”
Josephine County responded earlier this week with a statement saying the conduct was unprofessional, disrespectful, and unacceptable. The county says in response, commissioner DeYoung’s interactions with the employee will be restricted, a written warning and reprimand will be issued, and additional training regarding acceptable workplace behavior will be provided.
Commissioner Deyoung tells NBC5 that an internal investigation of the incident is underway. He said he has no intention of stepping down from the board of commissioners. His term is up at the end of the year and he is not seeking re-election.
Read the full statement from Josephine County below:
It is Josephine County’s policy to provide a workplace free from harassment and that honors an individual’s right to respect and professional conduct in the workplace. Josephine County has a zero-tolerance policy regarding harassment in the workplace. Our Core Values emphasize our employees as our greatest resource, the provision of professional services, and integrity.
An investigation conducted by Josephine County staff found that Commissioner Daniel DeYoung’s conduct during the Legal Counsel Update on July 2 did not meet these Core Values and violated the county’s sexual harassment policy. The conduct was unprofessional, disrespectful, and unacceptable. In response, Commissioner DeYoung’s interactions with the employee will be restricted, a written warning and reprimand will be issued, and additional training regarding acceptable workplace behavior will be provided.
In addition, Josephine County staff will be reviewing and making recommendations regarding updates and revisions to county policy to ensure accountability for violations by any employee or elected official. Harassment of any kind is not the culture we strive for in Josephine County, and we will continue to improve our policies to hold those who engage in it accountable.
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