Tacoma’s city manager fired the city’s top domestic violence victims’ advocate Wednesday, putting an end to a meandering disciplinary process that included an internal city investigation over parts of two years and a drawn-out appeals case.
“We made the determination that termination was, in fact, necessary,” City Manager Eric Anderson said Wednesday.
But Anderson’s discipline imposed against Gloria China Fortson hardly puts the matter to rest.
Fortson, notified by mail in advance of her firing, filed suit against the city this week, challenging a hearing examiner’s ruling last month that upheld the city’s investigation against her. The probe had found that Fortson broke city ethics rules by helping a client illegally leave the state with her children.
Forton, 54, the city’s lone full-time domestic violence victim advocate since 1998, continued to receive her $61,000 annual salary while appealing the case since late last year.
Neither Fortson nor Steve Downing, her attorney, could be reached for immediate comment Wednesday.
The firing of Fortson, who helped launch the city’s domestic violence program, has implications for the way the city handles services for victims. Fortson has advocated for thousands of people seeking help from abuse. The city, which subsidizes similar services provided by the YWCA-Pierce County and the Crystal Judson Family Justice Center, will refer victims seeking help to those agencies, both of which continue to fully operate, Anderson said. But he’s not sure whether the city will replace Fortson.
Fortson’s legal petition, filed Tuesday in Pierce County Superior Court, contends Hearing Examiner Rodney Kerslake’s denial of her appeal of the city’s ethics findings “was inappropriate and not based on law.”
Among other things, the petition claims Kerslake ignored evidence and describes the city’s investigation as flawed, contending Fortson was “never notified of her right to an independent investigator.”
The case centered on Fortson’s advocacy work for Keisha Jackson, a Puyallup woman who leveled abuse allegations in 2006 against her husband, Kelvin Jackson, during a tangled separation and custody dispute. Kelvin Jackson consistently has denied the claims; a judge found domestic violence did not apply in the case.
A city investigator later found Fortson had violated the city’s ethics code in 2007 by inappropriately using city funds and her position to rent a van for Keisha Jackson, who then fled the state with her kids. Gone for months, Keisha Jackson directly violated a judge’s order and her ex-husband’s visitation rights. She later was arrested in Florida and returned to Washington, where she ultimately pleaded guilty to a contempt of court charge.
During her appeals hearing, Fortson contradicted her own previous statements, claiming she rented the van only for Jackson’s temporary local use, despite a rental receipt showing it was to be dropped off in Florida. Fortson claimed Keisha Jackson left the state on her own after changing the van’s rental terms.
Calling Fortson’s explanation “implausible,” Kerslake later upheld the city’s findings.
When deciding Fortson’s discipline, Anderson said he factored in “discrepancies” in her explanations.
“There were concerns about judgment,” he said.
Kelvin Jackson, who received $29,000 from the city to settle a claim he brought this year based on Fortson’s actions, said Wednesday he was pleased with Anderson’s decision.
“It’s about time,” he said.
But, “I think the city manager also needs to take the next step – to clean up that department and put some checks and balances in place.”
Anderson said he’ll leave the decision of whether to replace Fortson to Merritt Long, the city’s interim human rights/human services director. Long just replaced John Briehl, who retired Wednesday after 36 years with the city.
Long is “probably not in a position to make that determination,” Anderson said. “He hasn’t even taken the reins yet.”
Lewis Kamb: 253-597-8542 lewis.kamb@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/politics
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