An assistant to the mayor of Inglewood, James Butts, accuses you of harassment, "abusive behavior" and retaliation, and said in a letter from his lawyer to the city of Inglewood on Thursday that She was also unfairly dismissed from her job.
Melanie McDade-Dickens She alleges that she and Butts had a consensual romantic relationship for years before she ended it, a claim that the mayor previously refused to confirm or deny to The Los Angeles Times.
However, his lawyer, Carl Douglas, presented the accusations to city officials on Friday during a closed pre-disciplinary hearing in which McDade-Dickens, one of the highest paid employees of the Inglewood government, struggled to keep her job.
The 12-page letter details several cases of alleged verbal harassment and attempts to follow her, and says that Butts would threaten to "physically harm her."
Butts did not answer a list of questions from The Los Angeles Times, but Look at Hashmall, a lawyer representing the city, said that the mayor "categorically denies any accusation related to an alleged harassment or retaliation."
McDade-Dickens was an important figure in City Hall, as a key witness in an ongoing dispute involving Madison Square Garden Co. (which owns the Forum), Inglewood and the Clippers, in connection with a billion-dollar basketball arena of dollars proposed to the city of Inglewood.
In July, McDade-Dickens was escorted out of Inglewood City Hall and suspended, sEg the letter and court documents. In November, the city gave him a notice of intent to finish, pending Friday's hearing.
It is not clear exactly what led to the suspension of McDade-Dickens. Douglas refused to give more details.
However, your letter quotes 15 accusations against him, iincluding that she encouraged an employee of the city of Inglewood to alter her state and federal deductions, and that she had co-workers who helped her with personal duties against her will. There is also a reference to āconfidential accusations of criminal misconduct,ā again without details.
In March 2018, McDade-Dickens ended the relationship with Butts, according to the letter.
"Mayor Butts was not willing to accept Mrs. McDade's decision that he wanted to move on with his life without him, so he began a campaign of sexual harassment," Douglas wrote in the letter. One month after the end of your relationship, McDade-Dickens alleges that Butts did not invite her to weekly meetings with department heads and the police chief, according to the letter.
In March 2019, after a birthday that he allegedly refused to spend with the mayor, he "stripped" her of her assistant title of city manager, according to the letter.
His salary skyrocketed
McDade-Dickens was hired as a Butts assistant in 2011. He also worked at and was paid for the Butts campaigns in 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2016, according to financial disclosures, cited by Daily Breeze.
At City Hall, his salary increased from $ 73,850 in 2013 to $ 289,864 in 2018, according to Transparent California salary data. His compensation included $ 115,816 in extra payment, more than double what other employees received.
By way of comparison, the city's deputy director and chief financial officer, David Esparza, received $ 281,065 with $ 22,569 in additional payment. Other assistants in the city administration earned less than $ 150,000 in salary.
Although the McDade-Dickens title changed from principal assistant to executive assistant in 2016, his job responsibilities in recent years were more similar to those of an assistant city administrator, city officials told the Daily Breeze. His salary increased when he was put in charge of the city's emergency parking and emergency management programs, they said.
Butts has been mayor of Inglewood for almost eight years and has been at the center of a development boom in the city.
He has an annual salary of $ 111,303.00, according to Transparent California.
McDade-Dickens was paid $ 215,856 last year, according to city manager Artie Fields, but Transparent California set his total salary at $ 289,864.00.
Friday's hearing again raised questions that still have no answer about McDade-Dickens's relationship with Butts.
