Fired Zachry Employee Commits Suicide

[Taco]

http://www.ksat.com/news/6682907/detail.html


Fired Zachry Employee Commits Suicide
Dickerson Was Fired Over E-Mail He Sent To Councilwoman

POSTED: 12:47 pm CST February 2, 2006
UPDATED: 1:52 pm CST February 2, 2006

SAN ANTONIO -- A few days after he was fired for sending an e-mail to a San Antonio councilwoman, a 52-year-old man took his life Thursday morning at his North Side home.

George Dickerson, a long-time worker for Zachry Construction Corporation died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.

Sgt. David Scepanski, of the San Antonio Police Department, said that a family member found Dickerson in the back yard of his home.

Dickerson left a suicide note.

"It basically said there was some recent events that weighed very heavily on him," Scepanski said.

On Monday, Dickerson sent an e-mail complaining about a nightclub near his home from his company server to District 7 Councilwoman Elena Guajardo.

The e-mail said that the club, Graham Central Station, which is located across the street from Dickerson's subdivision, was increasing the crime rate by "enticing undesirable, low-class elements from bad parts of the city."

He also complained about the club's entertainment, calling it "lewd, lascivious and low class."

Dickerson also suggested in the e-mail that the city should move the club to "the lower class, bad parts of the city."

He also sent another e-mail to Guajardo, saying that his first e-mail was "completely confidential and not for public distribution."

Guajardo, who said that the e-mail was "racial and discriminatory," contacted Zachry officials. Dickerson was then fired for what company officials said was a violation of company's computer use.

When asked about the e-mails Thursday, Guajardo declined to address the issue, saying it wasn't the proper time.

"I think of him, the feeling of no hope," she said. "That really saddens me. And I think at this time ... we'll be praying for his family. Praying for all the confusion, the loss and the pain that is going on right now."

Zachry released the following statement regarding Dickerson's death:

"We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of George's death. The thoughts and prayers of the Zachry family and organization are with George's family. We regret that this matter became public and evolved into a personal tragedy."

Dickerson was described by family members as a kind man who loved antiques.

His family is said to be distraught and are planning to make a statement at a later time.

[Yonivore]

Repeat after me: "Never, never, never, never, send a racially charged, offensive, or bigoted e-mail from your bosses computer on your bosses dime."

[Oh, Gee!!]

Stupid white people

[Nbadan]

I wonder if Mr. Dickerson would have had the same sentiments if he lived in Hill Country Village or ajacent subdivisions next to one of the new clubs along 281? My thoughts are probably not. Very sad situation. I feel for the family.

[Yonivore]

Stupid white people
Did the story give his race?

[Oh, Gee!!]

Did the story give his race?

yes

[Mr. Peabody]

I wonder if Mr. Dickerson would have had the same sentiments if he lived in Hill Country Village or ajacent subdivisions next to one of the new clubs along 281? My thoughts are probably not. Very sad situation. I feel for the family.

I agree with him about Graham Central Station. I used to live in that area and there were some shady characters coming out of that place at about 2am every weekend. Hell, I think some guy was murdered in the club not too long ago.

I don't think it's a race or class issue, I really just think it is a rough crowd that goes there.

Of course, I can say that because I'm Black.

[Yonivore]

yes
Which leads to the obvious, "why?"

[Mr. Peabody]

Which leads to the obvious, "why?"

The story is better if the guy is white.

[Yonivore]

The story is better if the guy is white.
I see.

[Mr. Peabody]

I see.

I think it's because only white people can be racist or at least, that's what Malcolm X said.

[Oh, Gee!!]

Which leads to the obvious, "why?"


I think the obvious question is "where?" As in "where in the story does it say homeboy was a cracker?"

[Mr. Peabody]

I think the obvious question is "where?" As in "where in the story does it say homeboy was a cracker?"

It doesn't, but only white people can be racist, so it's assumed.

[Kori Ellis]

Guajardo, who said that the e-mail was "racial and discriminatory,"

What parts of his email were racial??

He might have been display "class" prejudice, but did he ever mention race??

[Nbadan]

What parts of his email were racial??

He might have been display "class" prejudice, but did he ever mention race??

I think the racial part is was implied because of the clientele that frequents Graham Central Station. I don't think it's unfair to characterize it as a predominantly Hispanic (minority) club.

[Kori Ellis]

It's just a shame that the guy thought he needed to kill himself over this.

Condolences to his family.

[Mr. Peabody]

It's just a shame that the guy thought he needed to kill himself over this.

Condolences to his family.

Well, he lost his long-time job and has been labeled a racist by the local media. Quite a burden for someone to carry.

[Mr. Peabody]

I just can't believe that the Guajardo turned the email over to his employer.

What a bitch!

I hope she realizes that she now has blood on her hands.

[Vashner]

No burden to kill yourself. See how liberals think. It's ok to kill yourself if you get fired but if a convicted murderer is killed Mr. Peabody cries.

Typical insite into the twisted liberal mind.

[SpursWoman]

What parts of his email were racial??

He might have been display "class" prejudice, but did he ever mention race??


I was wondering if that was the entire email, or if they cut the *bad* parts out.

[Mr. Peabody]

No burden to kill yourself. See how liberals think. It's ok to kill yourself if you get fired but if a convicted murderer is killed Mr. Peabody cries.

Typical insite into the twisted liberal mind.

You don't make any sense.

I said I felt sorry for the guy and that the council woman's actions in reporting him were wrong.

I really don't understand your post.

If you want to attack me, I have posted more outlandish crap than saying I felt sorry for a guy that committed suicide.

[Oh, Gee!!]

You don't make any sense.

I said I felt sorry for the guy and that the council woman's actions in reporting him were wrong.

I really don't understand your post.

If you want to attack me, I have posted more outlandish crap than saying I felt sorry for a guy that committed suicide.


hey, Peabody, someone's getting executed somewhere. what are you gonna do about it, cry?

[Mr. Peabody]

I was wondering if that was the entire email, or if they cut the *bad* parts out.

I assume they cut out the parts referring to Mexicans or Blacks. Either that or Guajardo read race into his email, which is entirely possible.

[Nbadan]

Blood on her hands?

http://images.ibsys.com/2006/0202/6683067_240X180.jpg
San Antonio District 7 Councilwoman Elena Guajardo

I don't think so.

[Mr. Peabody]

hey, Peabody, someone's getting executed somewhere. what are you gonna do about it, cry?

I already am, my brother...I already am. :depressed

[Peter]

So did he send the email from his work account or from a personal account while at the office?

[SpursWoman]

Why not? People write the council about all kinds of things that piss them off ... and I'll bet often times a lot worse than what he said. I wonder why she felt compelled to to snitch him off? Why didn't she just blow him off like they do everyone else? :spin

[Mr. Peabody]

Blood on her hands?

http://images.ibsys.com/2006/0202/6683067_240X180.jpg
San Antonio District 7 Councilwoman Elena Guajardo

I don't think so.

Don't you think her actions were a little over the top. I mean, reporting her constituent to his employer?

It was a vindictive act and caused the guy to loose [sic] his job, be labeled a racist and commit suicide.

[Mr. Peabody]

So did he send the email from his work account or from a personal account while at the office?

Probably from his work account. The article indicated that he was terminated for violating the computer policy.

[Nbadan]

54 year old George Dickerson, an executive with the San Antonio based global engineering and construction firm Zachry Construction Corporation, committed suicide today, after an angry e-mail he sent to his city council member complaining about a night club in his neighborhood was leaked to the media and prompted Zachry to fire him for unauthorized use of the company's e-mail system.

WOAI (http://www.woai.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=DB798BD6-E1F6-4C12-8FE1-525D0CCED15F)

Anybody find a copy of the complete e-mail online?

[Mr. Peabody]

But what raised eyebrows were comments Dickerson made in his e-mail which referred to the customers of the nightclub as 'undesirable, low class elements from bad parts of the city (who come into) our upper class part of the city for which we pay a very large tax burden in which to live to be safe and be away from such elements.'

Eight minutes after sending Guajardo the e-mail, Dickerson sent her another e-mail saying 'the previous e-mail transmitted regarding the Graham Central Station is to be considered compleely confidential and not for public distribution.'



Racist?

[hussker]

Blood on her hands?

http://images.ibsys.com/2006/0202/6683067_240X180.jpg
San Antonio District 7 Councilwoman Elena Guajardo

I don't think so.


I am waiting for some to photoshop THIS one...Looks like potential Troll Forum Material

[Crookshanks]

I think the councilwoman's actions were vindictive and wrong. Why didn't she contact Mr. Dickerson first instead of "tattling on him to his employer? I hope she has many sleepless nights over this.

I'm going to send her an e-mail, but I have to wait until I get home, since I'm working for a state agency!

[Oh, Gee!!]

I think the councilwoman's actions were vindictive and wrong. Why didn't she contact Mr. Dickerson first instead of "tattling on him to his employer? I hope she has many sleepless nights over this.

I'm going to send her an e-mail, but I have to wait until I get home, since I'm working for a state agency!


I hope we don't end reading about you in a few days.

[Yonivore]

I think the councilwoman's actions were vindictive and wrong. Why didn't she contact Mr. Dickerson first instead of "tattling on him to his employer? I hope she has many sleepless nights over this.

I'm going to send her an e-mail, but I have to wait until I get home, since I'm working for a state agency!
Working, are ya?

[Peter]

Racist?

If that's the worst part then it looks like she read a bit much into what he wrote.

[Crookshanks]

I would like to know what incident set off Mr. Dickerson. I would guess that lots of stuff has been happening and he finally got fed up and fired off an angry e-mail.

Considering that he sent the second e-mail regarding confidentialty, I would hazard a guess that he realized he maybe shouldn't have been so vocal.

Either way, I can certainly understand his frustration. It's a very sad situation all around.

[ElMuerto]

Sucks.

[Yonivore]

Let's all forward the obituary and funeral arrangements to councilwoman Guajardo, shall we?

[Peter]

Let's say you live near a club like that. You pay property taxes out the ass. You've had it and vent to your local elected representative. Maybe there's been a bunch of cars and homes broken into in the area. Now instead of at least a form letter response your representative opts to rat you out to your employer.

I do agree that the individual should never have used his work account to send such a complaint, but it was just that, a complaint. So the man worked for a respected company. So what? He made it clear that was his own personal opinion. Unless the email (or prior ones) was full of racial epithets and threats, I don't see the justification for her going to his employer.

What happened was extreme, but it's a natural result of the councilwoman not using reasonable discretion. If she thought the email was bigoted, then she should've let the man know that, or better yet, ignored him.

[Peter]

Here's a prior story. It provides a little more light on what the email contained...



http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA020206.01B.Zachry_email.17f524e4.html

Zachry is stung by another e-mail

Web Posted: 02/02/2006 12:00 AM CST
Laura E. Jesse
Express-News Staff Writer

A 27-year employee of Zachry Construction Corp. was fired this week for sending an e-mail from the company's server to City Councilwoman Elena Guajardo with what she called "very racial and very discriminatory" comments.

It was the second time in eight months that a Zachry employee has embarrassed the company by sending an e-mail containing disparaging remarks about various parts of the city.

"When I read it I thought, 'Another e-mail from Zachry. What is going on?'" Guajardo said Wednesday.

George Dickerson, who worked in the company's procurement department, wrote to complain about Graham Central Station, a large nightclub on Fredericksburg Road. It's across the street from the subdivision where he lives.

Dickerson wrote that the club attracts "undesirable, low class elements from bad parts of the city into our upper class part of the city for which we pay a very large tax burden in which to live to be safe and away from such elements."

He also wrote that the entertainment at the club "is of a lude, lascivious, low class, debaucheristic, criminalistic, riot insistic, anarchistic nature. Thereby inciting the absolute worst behavior from the worst possible type of patron."

Those patrons, he went on, come from the "lower class bad parts of the city" and that the club should be forced to relocate to one of those areas, "thereby containing all of these very serious problems within the areas in which these types of criminal debaucheric behavior occur on a regular basis."

Contacted at home Wednesday, Dickerson refused to comment.

Vicky Waddy, Zachry's public affairs director, said the company was disappointed to learn of the e-mail and that it was a violation of the company's policy on computer use.

Last summer, Ken Wolf, who was vice president of Metropolitan Resources Inc., a Zachry subsidiary, resigned after he sent an e-mail through a company computer in May saying the SBC Center, now AT&T Center, was built "in the ghetto" because of a lack of leadership in city government.

Waddy said the company will increase its training on the computer-use policy and remind people about its e-mail policy.

The fallout from Wolf's May e-mail included a public apology from H.B. Zachry Jr., who heads the company, and a community effort to scrap plans to give Zachry Realty Inc. $1.9 million in tax money for a Staybridge Suites Hotel near Sunset Station.

Eventually the company agreed to give $750,000 to the East Side's Community Economic Revitalization Agency to help lure jobs to the East Side, and they trimmed the original request for tax money to $1 million.

"The bottom line is it's not the Zachrys, but that's what concerns me: It came from their company," said Guajardo, whose district is heavily Hispanic. "We have a beautiful city and we can't pit one side of town against another."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[email protected]

[JoePublic]

I don't think she has blood on her hands at all...at least not anymore than Bush does.

[Oh, Gee!!]

He probably also called her a cunt. That's the real reason why she was pissed

[Oh, Gee!!]

The dude musta lived in OAK HILLS. That would make him white.

[Peter]

Who cares what his race was? If that's the worst of what he sent, it looks like she extrapolated a bit much about him.

[xrayzebra]

What parts of his email were racial??

He might have been display "class" prejudice, but did he ever mention race??


Oh-my, Kori. You hit the whole thing on the head. What part was racist.
Nothing he said was racist. Could it be that the councilman wanted to
paint him racist? What a shame. What a shame. He, the writer, said what
he thought and believed.

[xrayzebra]

For those that care, here is the email address for the lady councilwoman.

[email protected]

Just maybe you would like to tell her how right or wrong she is.

[JoeChalupa]

I think this man had more issues than anyone will really know and the stress of life may have caused him to write that email in haste.
I know I've had my meltdowns and said things I shouldn't have been meant at the time.
Should she have done what she did? Hind sight is 20/20 as they say.

I heard them talking about this on KTSA this morning and was shocked when I heard of the tragic events of today.

God Bless them all.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

http://sanantoniolightning.com/zsuicide.html

Here's the e-mail.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Man, there is nothing racially charged about that e-mail. I agree with Kori in that it's class-based, not necessarily race.

[JoeChalupa]

I for one don't blame the council woman for this man's suicide.
Racist? Depends on how you read it but to me I can see how one could interpret it that way. Simply because you don't use doesn't make it that but who the hell knows and I don't think this one incident was it but a whole lot of other stuff we will never know and quite frankly it is none of our business.

I know some won't like my post but it is what it is.

[Peter]

Yeah, there's nothing wrong with that email. She clearly overreacted.

[Nbadan]

Ive been to Graham Central Station before, and I've never experience debaucheric behavior there. As for the neighboring area, well, there are some big houses on Callaghan but I doubt that GCS being there has hurt property values of any of the surrounding area.

By the way, I want to stress to everyone just how selfish committing suicide can be. This guy worked for Zachry, so you know he had some cash stashed away for retirement, and after 20+ years he finally gets his chance and now his kids and grand-kids have to live without a father and grandfather, and for what?

[FromWayDowntown]

I still don't understand why her first reaction was to address his supervisors rather than address him directly. That, to me, is poor judgment and reflects a lack of commitment to the public service aspect of being a councilperson. She was elected, in part, to be responsive to constituents who bring concerns. This guy had some apparently legitimate concerns and while he may have raised them inartfully, that doesn't change the fact that he had a point.

It would appear that she's more interested in political aggrandizement than about actually solving problems raised by her constituents.

Nice responsiveness to the voting public, councilwoman.

[exstatic]

It would appear that she's more interested in political aggrandizement than about actually solving problems raised by her constituents.

The shame of it is, that's rampant in politics now.

[Peter]

I still don't understand why her first reaction was to address his supervisors rather than address him directly. That, to me, is poor judgment and reflects a lack of commitment to the public service aspect of being a councilperson. She was elected, in part, to be responsive to constituents who bring concerns. This guy had some apparently legitimate concerns and while he may have raised them inartfully, that doesn't change the fact that he had a point.

It would appear that she's more interested in political aggrandizement than about actually solving problems raised by her constituents.

Nice responsiveness to the voting public, councilwoman.


:tu

Totally. The guy was obviously pissed when he wrote that, but there was nothing that was personally insulting or threatening. As for the "very racial and very discriminatory" characterization of his email by the councilwoman, I don't see that. You have to read into what he said to get there. Frankly I did not expect to read a letter that coherent and organized based on media reports. Do her constituents have to live in fear of her reporting them to their bosses if she doesn't like what they write her?

[Peter]

Ive been to Graham Central Station before, and I've never experience debaucheric behavior there. As for the neighboring area, well, there are some big houses on Callaghan but I doubt that GCS being there has hurt property values of any of the surrounding area.

And people are never drunk upon leaving a club.




By the way, I want to stress to everyone just how selfish committing suicide can be. This guy worked for Zachry, so you know he had some cash stashed away for retirement, and after 20+ years he finally gets his chance and now his kids and grand-kids have to live without a father and grandfather, and for what?

Who knows, perhaps in his mind he was sparing his family the embarrasment of having him around after this incident? After all, thanks to the great councilwoman, he was made out to be Bull Connor to the entire city.

[Guru of Nothing]

I still don't understand why her first reaction was to address his supervisors rather than address him directly.

I don't understand either, but I'm not surprised in the least.

[Nbadan]

And people are never drunk upon leaving a club.

There's clubs and drunks all over town, not just that area.

[Nbadan]

I still don't understand why her first reaction was to address his supervisors rather than address him directly.

I think it had something to do with a pervious e-mail incident coming from the Zachry e-mail system. The company probably instituted strict policies about using company equipment for personal use. He could have been fired for that alone, forget the allegations of racism.

[Peter]

There's clubs and drunks all over town, not just that area.


That one is a major public nuisance and is on the verge of losing its liquor license because of that.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

I think it had something to do with a pervious e-mail incident coming from the Zachry e-mail system. The company probably instituted strict policies about using company equipment for personal use. He could have been fired for that alone, forget the allegations of racism.

But when did it become a councilwoman's job to report somebody for an internal company matter?

[Peter]

I think it had something to do with a pervious e-mail incident coming from the Zachry e-mail system. The company probably instituted strict policies about using company equipment for personal use. He could have been fired for that alone, forget the allegations of racism.

Right, and how did the firm find out about that?

[FromWayDowntown]

I think it had something to do with a pervious e-mail incident coming from the Zachry e-mail system. The company probably instituted strict policies about using company equipment for personal use. He could have been fired for that alone, forget the allegations of racism.

And obviously, to this councilwoman, the most important issue raised by the employee's e-mail was the violation of a private company's e-mail policies, and not addressing the issues raised by her constituent.

That, to me, is troubling.

[Trainwreck2100]

And obviously, to this councilwoman, the most important issue raised by the employee's e-mail was the violation of a private company's e-mail policies, and not addressing the issues raised by her constituent.

That, to me, is troubling.


And it's possible that the guy didn't know about different email servers, my aunt is 51 and she didn't know that yahoo gave you free email. That may explain why he used his employers. As for her political career I think it's over. People know about Graham's reputation, and her opponent just has to bring up the fact she helped a constituent lose his job.

[Obstructed_View]

I think the racial part is was implied because of the clientele that frequents Graham Central Station. I don't think it's unfair to characterize it as a predominantly Hispanic (minority) club.
Hispanics are the minority in San Antonio?

[JoeChalupa]

Fact is the man broke company policy and this councilwoman had NOTHING to do with his decision to do so.
Was her decision a bad one? I don't know how I'd react but I think it is human nature to respond and perhaps she was having a bad day and responded foolishly.
I agree with Jack Ricardi and I will not put the blame of this man's suicide on her. But that is just me and I'm just a simple man but from the posts that I've read I'm in the minority on this one but that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

I know it may sound cold but Emails don't kill people guns do.

[JoeChalupa]

And that is just another reason I refuse to have a gun in the house.

[FromWayDowntown]

Fact is the man broke company policy and this councilwoman had NOTHING to do with his decision to do so.
Was her decision a bad one? I don't know how I'd react but I think it is human nature to respond and perhaps she was having a bad day and responded foolishly.
I agree with Jack Ricardi and I will not put the blame of this man's suicide on her. But that is just me and I'm just a simple man but from the posts that I've read I'm in the minority on this one but that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

I know it may sound cold but Emails don't kill people guns do.

To be clear, I'm not placing blame for his suicide on the councilwoman. My concern is that this guy went to his councilperson with a complaint -- one that the councilperson is best suited to deal with. Rather than deal with the substance of his complaint -- however poorly worded it might have been -- and talking to this guy directly, she ignored the complaint and interjected herself into the affairs of a private business.

Are you comfortable with the notion, Joe, that council members should just ignore complaints raised by constituents because of the means used to convey that complaint? Doesn't she have some sort of obligation to at least address the issue raised by the message no matter how that message was presented to her?

[Mr. Peabody]

Fact is the man broke company policy and this councilwoman had NOTHING to do with his decision to do so.
Was her decision a bad one? I don't know how I'd react but I think it is human nature to respond and perhaps she was having a bad day and responded foolishly.
I agree with Jack Ricardi and I will not put the blame of this man's suicide on her. But that is just me and I'm just a simple man but from the posts that I've read I'm in the minority on this one but that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

I know it may sound cold but Emails don't kill people guns do.

Joe, I think the company fired Dickerson, not because he violated the company email policy, but rather because it feared negative press on the issue. A company is not going to fire a 25+ year employee over a company email policy. The company was probably afraid that the council woman would go public and that forced the company's hand.

It was a vindictive act by a woman who is supposed to hear these kinds of complaints.

Can any of her constituents feel safe going to her with complaints now? Are they going to have to be extra careful to state their complaints in a manner that don't offend her or risk retribution?

[Peter]

Would it have been any different if he had used a personal email account but identified himself as an employee of Zachary? Going by the standard presented by the councilwoman, I'm not sure it would be different.

I'm still not seeing how the email was "very racial and very discriminatory". About the only thing she could really complain about based on the text of the email was that the guy was a snob. He didn't say one thing about the race of the people he was complaining about. His complaints were based primarily on his observations of what was happening outside the club in the area (ie drunken driving deaths and mayhem). It was clear that was what was pissing him off, the behavior that he claimed was routine. Can a citizen not complain about a public nuisance?

[SpursWoman]

Can any of her constituents feel safe going to her with complaints now? Are they going to have to be extra careful to state their complaints in a manner that don't offend her or risk retribution?


And considering it looks as though she read even more into the email than was necessarily there, that'd make me even more reluctant to raise my voice about anything. I'm pretty sure that defeats the purpose of her position.

[Taco]

this is from Chris Duels website

There was a follow up e-mail

http://p078.ezboard.com/f550undergroundfrm7.showMessage?topicID=7907.topic

http://www.chrisduel.com/Demail1.gif

--
http://www.chrisduel.com/email2.gif

[SpursWoman]

OMFG.

That was not in the SLIGHTEST bit hostile, racist or discriminatory. I hope she rots.

:(

[xrayzebra]

^^So much for a request for confidentiality from a politician wanting to stir up
a little division in race relations. Wonder who Lisa Juarez is? Maybe he had
some contact with the councilwoman's office before this incident. This mornings
paper says the councilwoman called Zachry and requested that he not be fired.
But if I read the first article correctly looks like Zachry was in line to get some
taxpayer money from the city and didn't want to step on any toes.

Here is link to yesterdays article in the E-N:

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/citycouncil/stories/MYSA020206.01B.Zachry_email.17f524e4.html

[Mr. Peabody]

If she didn't want him fired, why did she contact his employer? And, what did she think would happen when a councilwoman contacts a business that relies on city contracts and complains about a "racist" employee?

[Peter]

Since this story is about jumping to conclusions, how about this:

Councilwoman gets said email from Zachary employee. Councilwoman assumes that the guy is a white guy and that he's referring to poor hispanics. Councilwoman's constituency is primary...poor hispanics. What better way to score some political points than to stick it to a white dude living in a nice part of town who was complaining about...poor hispanics? Who originally leaked this email? Zachary? I don't see that. The assumption in this thread has been that the councilwoman was acting in good faith, however misguided. If she was, how'd any of this become public knowledge?

[Oh, Gee!!]

If she didn't want him fired, why did she contact his employer? And, what did she think would happen when a councilwoman contacts a business that relies on city contracts and complains about a "racist" employee?


to make 'em take an amount lesser than the bid they submitted to build the new hotel. it's called greasing the wheels, or is it kickbacks?

[SA210]

There was no need for her to do that.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Since this story is about jumping to conclusions, how about this:

Councilwoman gets said email from Zachary employee. Councilwoman assumes that the guy is a white guy and that he's referring to poor hispanics. Councilwoman's constituency is primary...poor hispanics. What better way to score some political points than to stick it to a white dude living in a nice part of town who was complaining about...poor hispanics? Who originally leaked this email? Zachary? I don't see that. The assumption in this thread has been that the councilwoman was acting in good faith, however misguided. If she was, how'd any of this become public knowledge?

My guess is FOIA.

The San Antonio Lightning (http://sanantoniolightning.com/) has always been a great outlet for local investigations. They always seem to get another side of a story and usually posts any related documents fairly quickly. If it's not FOIA (Open Records Act, but who's counting?), then they've got somebody on the inside who helps them out when it comes to city documents.

And just for others to know, e-mails to/from a city employee's computer are more times than not, public record (usually those with regards to security and such aren't).

[Mr. Peabody]

to make 'em take an amount lesser than the bid they submitted to build the new hotel. it's called greasing the wheels, or is it kickbacks?

No, the "kickback" is the old Kid 'n Play dance move where you kick your leg back and the force turns your whole body.

http://viking.necrolounge.com/archives/kid_n_play.jpg

[Peter]

My guess is FOIA.

The San Antonio Lightning (http://sanantoniolightning.com/) has always been a great outlet for local investigations. They always seem to get another side of a story and usually posts any related documents fairly quickly. If it's not FOIA (Open Records Act, but who's counting?), then they've got somebody on the inside who helps them out when it comes to city documents.

And just for others to know, e-mails to/from a city employee's computer are more times than not, public record (usually those with regards to security and such aren't).

That would make sense, but how'd the media become aware of the story? Are they submitting FOIA requests daily?

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Interesting note...the councilwoman and Dickerson might have known each other.

According to a citizen's e-mail to Guajardo, Dickerson graduated in 1972 from Jefferson. According to Guajardo's bio, she graduated from Jefferson (no date given, but she earned her bachelor's degree in 1974).

[Peter]

Interesting note...the councilwoman and Dickerson might have known each other.

According to a citizen's e-mail to Guajardo, Dickerson graduated in 1972 from Jefferson. According to Guajardo's bio, she graduated from Jefferson (no date given, but she earned her bachelor's degree in 1974).


Was that email sent before or after Dickerson sent his two? Following along this line, were there prior communications from Dickerson to the councilwoman?

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

That would make sense, but how'd the media become aware of the story? Are they submitting FOIA requests daily?

That's the question. Since I'm not in SA, who broke the story? Was in the E-N?

And again, my guess is it's not "directly" a FOIA, it's probably a gentleman's agreement in which the outlet files a FOIA for information the gov't body knows is public record and doesn't keep them waiting for it like a normal citizen might encounter.

I have a similar arrangement with some departments of the university since I need records quite often and they've known us to be fair to them since we report on them quite often.

On the other hand, a certain campus law enforcement agency loves to dick around when it comes to me or my staff requesting the slightest bit of information from them.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Was that email sent before or after Dickerson sent his two? Following along this line, were there prior communications from Dickerson to the councilwoman?

No, that e-mail posted on the Lightning wasn't there last night. It doesn't say exactly when it was sent, but it makes reference to Dickerson's suicide.

[FromWayDowntown]

Since this story is about jumping to conclusions, how about this:

Councilwoman gets said email from Zachary employee. Councilwoman assumes that the guy is a white guy and that he's referring to poor hispanics. Councilwoman's constituency is primary...poor hispanics.

Well, she was his councilwoman and District 7 is far from the skid row of San Antonio. I don't even know that District 7's constituency is primarily poor hispanics. It would appear to be mostly middle-to-upper-middle class and ethnically mixed. (I grew up in District 7 and my mother lives in District 7, for whatever that's worth; I have some first-hand knowledge of what is and isn't in that area of town). I know and appreciate where you're going here, but I think the assumption s somewhat far-fetched.


The assumption in this thread has been that the councilwoman was acting in good faith, however misguided. If she was, how'd any of this become public knowledge?

I guess that depends on how you define good faith. In terms of her relationship with her constituency, good faith, to me, would have been contacting the individual to express concern for his means of communicating the message, both in terms of the language used (taking her belief that the e-mail was offensive at face value) and the means used (believing that she had knowledge that this was a violation of Zachry policy). Nevertheless, assuming we're talking about the motivations behind her decision to approach Zachry, I think you're right in saying that she did that in good faith. I just happen to believe that her good faith doesn't trump the fact that her effort appears to have been a terribly misguided one.

[Peter]

Hmmm...the timeline seems to be that she contacted his superior(s) at Zachary and then the email and story became public.

[Peter]

Well, she was his councilwoman and District 7 is far from the skid row of San Antonio. I don't even know that District 7's constituency is primarily poor hispanics. It would appear to be mostly middle-to-upper-middle class and ethnically mixed. (I grew up in District 7 and my mother lives in District 7, for whatever that's worth; I have some first-hand knowledge of what is and isn't in that area of town). I know and appreciate where you're going here, but I think the assumption s somewhat far-fetched.

Maybe she's eyeing a larger prize.




I guess that depends on how you define good faith. In terms of her relationship with her constituency, good faith, to me, would have been contacting the individual to express concern for his means of communicating the message, both in terms of the language used (taking her belief that the e-mail was offensive at face value) and the means used (believing that she had knowledge that this was a violation of Zachry policy). Nevertheless, assuming we're talking about the motivations behind her decision to approach Zachry, I think you're right in saying that she did that in good faith. I just happen to believe that her good faith doesn't trump the fact that her effort appears to have been a terribly misguided one.

Right. If she felt it was that terribly offensive then she went to Zachary. But how did all of this become public knowledge?

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Hmmm...the timeline seems to be that she contacted his superior(s) at Zachary and then the email and story became public.

WOAI's timeline says...

Monday night...two e-mails sent to Guajardo from Dickerson, the second e-mail eight minutes after the first.

Wednesday...after learning of the e-mails, Zachry fires Dickerson.

Thursday morning (midnight)...story posted on MySA.com (and that morning's newspaper, I'd assume)

Thursday morning...Dickerson found dead of self-inflicted gunshot wound.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Maybe she's eyeing a larger prize.




Right. If she felt it was that terribly offensive then she went to Zachary. But how did all of this become public knowledge?

Guajardo is directly quoted in that E-N story, Dickerson declined comment. Both on Wednesday.

I don't think Guajardo called the press. What did she have to gain by it? Even if the worst could be thought (saying she did it to score points with her minority constituency), it would certainly alienate those who felt the same way about GCS and those who feel now that her actions of reporting instead of counciling her constituent were wrong.

I doubt Zachry would. Why make public (especially since it was the second time in a year) that an employee was fired for personal use of company property?

Dickerson (or someone around him) would have the most to gain from a groundswell of public support for those who felt the same way he did about GCS, but if he declined comment, he probably didn't contact them to do that. Adding to that, he theoretically might have had a slander suit against Guajardo.

My best guess, an inside source of the reporter's at either Zachry or the city.

[JoeChalupa]

To be clear, I'm not placing blame for his suicide on the councilwoman. My concern is that this guy went to his councilperson with a complaint -- one that the councilperson is best suited to deal with. Rather than deal with the substance of his complaint -- however poorly worded it might have been -- and talking to this guy directly, she ignored the complaint and interjected herself into the affairs of a private business.

Are you comfortable with the notion, Joe, that council members should just ignore complaints raised by constituents because of the means used to convey that complaint? Doesn't she have some sort of obligation to at least address the issue raised by the message no matter how that message was presented to her?

I never stated that she should ignore complaints by her constituents at all.
And I have no knowledge if she has addressed the issue or not but I would think so and if not then the people should vote her out.
A vote carries more weight than an email but that is just me.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

I never stated that she should ignore complaints by her constituents at all.
And I have no knowledge if she has addressed the issue or not but I would think so and if not then the people should vote her out.
A vote carries more weight than an email but that is just me.

Sounds like a FOIA for any documents of Guajardo to/from the TABC are in order.

And I might have missed this, but how did Zachry specifically find out? Did she call them or e-mail them?

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

FWD, am I correct in thinking he might have had a slander civil suit on Guajardo?

[JoeChalupa]

Is there a "deep throat" in SA?

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Is there a "deep throat" in SA?

Apparently, George Dickerson believed there were many at GCS.

[Oh, Gee!!]

FWD, am I correct in thinking he might have had a slander civil suit on Guajardo?

he's dead.

[Peter]

It'll be interesting to see how the councilwoman handles damage control now. If all she did was react to what she felt was an offensive email by directly contacting the man's employer and nothing more, then at least she didn't take it public. But we're still left wondering how that email (and story) made it to public light.

[SpursWoman]

Is there a "deep throat" in SA?










.....nah.....too easy. :spin

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

he's dead.

Hence the phrasing "might have had."

[FromWayDowntown]

FWD, am I correct in thinking he might have had a slander civil suit on Guajardo?

I would think that the basic elements are there; but proving that case would, I think, prove very difficult.

[JoeChalupa]

.....nah.....too easy. :spin

:lol

[Useruser666]

Who wants to go to the next city council meeting?

[Yonivore]

Who wants to go to the next city council meeting?
Only if "Deep Throat" is going to be there.

[Nbadan]

I would think that the basic elements are there; but proving that case would, I think, prove very difficult.

Not to mention it would probably get really nasty and the family would be dragged through the mud by the defense. In the end, I don't think a jury would find her negligent for thinking she was doing the right thing. After all, it wasn't her who went screaming to the Express-News about the e-mail.

[Peter]

Not to mention it would probably get really nasty and the family would be dragged through the mud by the defense. In the end, I don't think a jury would find her negligent for thinking she was doing the right thing. After all, it wasn't her who went screaming to the Express-News about the e-mail.

Then who did?

[Nbadan]

Then who did?


Good question. I don't think it was anyone at Zachry. You know, an E-mail like this probably would have circulated through-out City Hall, although no one will probably admit it publicly, so the leak could have been from any of a number of souces downtown.

[Oh, Gee!!]

Vashner thinks that "leakers" should be shot, or at least he does regarding the NSA spying program.

[clubalien]

Maybe he was in debt so needed to fake a suiicde to get life insurance?
remeber you can claim life insurance usally after 1 year of having policy. For some reason they belvie if you don't commit sucided within one year you are less likely.

another theory is this council women was looking to run for major and someone didn't want that so set her up. Ie she will never win another election again here. Not even those "poor mexicans" want whites killed because he wanted to be tough on crime.

corruption in san antonio city poltics? no way that would never happen. oh wait feds were called in for currpotion just a while back!!!

Glad to live in Schertz city limits.



Guajardo is directly quoted in that E-N story, Dickerson declined comment. Both on Wednesday.

I don't think Guajardo called the press. What did she have to gain by it? Even if the worst could be thought (saying she did it to score points with her minority constituency), it would certainly alienate those who felt the same way about GCS and those who feel now that her actions of reporting instead of counciling her constituent were wrong.

I doubt Zachry would. Why make public (especially since it was the second time in a year) that an employee was fired for personal use of company property?

Dickerson (or someone around him) would have the most to gain from a groundswell of public support for those who felt the same way he did about GCS, but if he declined comment, he probably didn't contact them to do that. Adding to that, he theoretically might have had a slander suit against Guajardo.

My best guess, an inside source of the reporter's at either Zachry or the city.

[SpursWoman]

I'm pretty sure he didn't fake his brains all over his backyard. :fro

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Maybe he was in debt so needed to fake a suiicde to get life insurance?
remeber you can claim life insurance usally after 1 year of having policy. For some reason they belvie if you don't commit sucided within one year you are less likely.

another theory is this council women was looking to run for major and someone didn't want that so set her up. Ie she will never win another election again here. Not even those "poor mexicans" want whites killed because he wanted to be tough on crime.

corruption in san antonio city poltics? no way that would never happen. oh wait feds were called in for currpotion just a while back!!!

Glad to live in Schertz city limits.

What the hell did you just say?

[exstatic]

Suicides don't collect insurance, either.

[Spam]

Suicides don't collect insurance, either.

Is that because they're not around to collect?

[Yonivore]

Suicides don't collect insurance, either.
Sure they do...you just have to buy the right policy and live out the waiting period.

My policy pays regardless of the cause of death, including suicide. Pays double for accidental and homicide.

Is that because they're not around to collect?
They're called beneficiaries.

[ElMuerto]

Yonivore doesn't understand dead humor then again he doesn't understand much.

[Nbadan]

It's no secret that the Express-News has 'spies' downtown. The media was bound to hear of this story one way or the other, but the Express-News made the choice to run with it, then again, I can't say that KSAT, KENS, and especially not OAI wouldn't have done the same. As I explained in the club thread regarding this topic, when you e-mail someone from your company e-mail address, the assumption is is that your representing the company, and I'm sure these were not views shared by the business owners of HB Zachry. They had every right to know. Was firing this guy over company e-mail abuse fair? That's for an arbitrator to decide. More than likely the company was just waiting for this to blow over and he would have been quietly brought back into the fold anyway.

[PM5K]

when you e-mail someone from your company e-mail address, the assumption is is that your representing the company,

I don't agree with that at all. Maybe initially you'd think the email represents the company or it's opinion, but by reading the contents it's obvious the opinion expressed is that of a private individual and not the company.

Did they have a right to know, who really cares? It wasn't the Councilwomans responsibility to tell them, her responsibility is to that of her constituents and to address the concerns brought up by them.

Her job is not to arbitrarily address only those concerns which are expressed to her in a manner that she deems acceptable and to ignore those that aren't, especially in a situation like this where there isn't anything aggregiously offensive.

[xrayzebra]

I don't agree with that at all. Maybe initially you'd think the email represents the company or it's opinion, but by reading the contents it's obvious the opinion expressed is that of a private individual and not the company.

Did they have a right to know, who really cares? It wasn't the Councilwomans responsibility to tell them, her responsibility is to that of her constituents and to address the concerns brought up by them.

Her job is not to arbitrarily address only those concerns which are expressed to her in a manner that she deems acceptable and to ignore those that aren't, especially in a situation like this where there isn't anything aggregiously offensive.

And get re-elected. Which she more than likely had in mind when she
wanted to show someone is a racist by exposing them to ridicule for
talking about bad elements, now everyone knows only minorities have
bad elements, don't they?

[xrayzebra]

and people don't think unions are important.............a union, in this case, would have saved his job, and his life.

Oh I don't think so. He was an engineer, a professional, which don't
belong to unions. And besides technically he did violate company policy
by using company property for private use. The computer.

[SpursWoman]

Oh I don't think so. He was an engineer, a professional, which don't
belong to unions. And besides technically he did violate company policy
by using company property for private use. The computer.


No, but from what I've heard from United Airlines unions anyway...you pretty much have to murder someone on the job to get fired.

:fro

[Nbadan]

No, but from what I've heard from United Airlines unions anyway...you pretty much have to murder someone on the job to get fired.

:fro

Eh, in Texas you can be fired for no reason at all. Which is better?

[DarkReign]

Oh I don't think so. He was an engineer, a professional, which don't
belong to unions. And besides technically he did violate company policy
by using company property for private use. The computer.

Ummm, yes, white collar jobs can be (and are) unionized.

Good for employees, very bad for employers. All perspective.

[SpursWoman]

Eh, in Texas you can be fired for no reason at all. Which is better?


Definitely perspective. I don't know that I would like being forced to constantly deal with an employee that couldn't/won't pull their weight or just not bright enough for the job. It's bad for the morale of those around him and a complete waste of money...as I'm probably paying him too much to begin with. As an employee, it would pretty much suck not being able to fuck-off on the job as much and have it basically guaranteed regardless. :lol

[Peter]

The more I think about this story the more I think the councilwoman was out of her fucking mind.

[SpursWoman]

The more I think about this story the more I think the councilwoman was out of her fucking mind.

Me, too. And it's very upsetting. :(

[Jamtas#2]

Ummm, yes, white collar jobs can be (and are) unionized.

Good for employees, very bad for employers. All perspective.

Not always true. I used to work in a union facility and the employees I managed all wanted to get rid of the union that only protected their "lazy co-workers". Unfortunately, they were not the best educated folks and as management I couldn't answer their questions on how to go about getting rid of the union. The union did supply its members with dues that were raised higher than the increases the union negotiated for them, and slashed tires for all those who didn't want to participate in a sickout scheduled when the management/employee relationship was at an all time high according to worker satisfaction surveys. Come contract time, the employee representatives actually kicked the union reps out of the negotiations because of their childish behavior and outlandish demands. Not to mention some of the most sorry assed defense given by the reps during grievance hearings. On a grievance for a termination that I was involved in, the reps ONLY defense was "Oh, you have to understand that I'm an honest person and I don't lie. So everything I tell you is true and can't be challanged."

so, I think unions can be bad for employees...

[Nbadan]

so, I think unions can be bad for employees...

I think that those in Unions would agree that the sum-benefits of being in a Union far surpass the negatives of being in one.

[xrayzebra]

And this morning the Councilwoman had published in the E-N her side of the story.

Chain of events clarified

On Thursday we suffered a tragic loss in the passing of George Dickerson. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Dickerson family.

Since this has stirred great media interest, I want to make clear the events of last week. On Jan. 30, I received an e-mail from Dickerson (from a Zachry server) regarding Graham Central Station, a nightclub adjacent to his neighborhood.

My staff contacted the Police Department to get more data on incident reports and request increased patrols of the area. I then scheduled a meeting with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and the Police Department to determine the status of Graham's liquor license. My staff also is attempting to schedule a meeting with the management of Graham's to discuss how they can be better neighbors.

Dickerson's e-mail contained statements that concerned me. I contacted Zachry to advise them that I had received, from their server, an e-mail containing disparaging statements regarding segments of our city and the people who live there. Zachry had been embarrassed by a similar e-mail less than a year earlier. E-mails, letters and all communication made to City Council members (and city offices) are subject to open records.

Late Jan. 30, I received word from Zachry that they had read the e-mail and were also concerned by the statements. I was informed that Dickerson was going to be suspended.

On Jan. 31, I met with Dickerson. Late that day, I received a message that Zachry had terminated Dickerson's employment.

Feb. 1 at 8 a.m., I called Zachry to suggest an alternative to firing Dickerson. I felt more could be accomplished with counseling and asking that he do some volunteering in the areas he had labeled "the bad parts" of the city. I hoped by meeting and working with people in the inner city, Dickerson could see the greatness of San Antonio's diversity.

Thursday morning I received word of Dickerson's passing.

It's unfortunate this became a media circus. As the Express-News reported, the media were contacted by a "third party" and not by myself or any member of my staff.

Whenever any member of our community reaches a point of despair where he turns to suicide, then we as a community have failed him. This tragic event is a reminder of the need to strengthen suicide prevention services. I ask that all of San Antonio join me in sending our prayers to the Dickerson family.

Councilwoman Elena K. Guajardo

I have never read such a bunch of self-serving statements as this lady is trying
to put forth. She even tried to tell Zachry how they should punish the man.
I still do not see anything racist in his remarks, but I certain do in her actions.
She assumes he must be talking about minorities because he speaks of the
elements going to the club, she assumes he is talking about her area of town,
so who is the racist?

[Peter]

That still doesn't justify her actions. She should've met with him to begin with instead of acting like a drama queen.

[Nbadan]

That still doesn't justify her actions. She should've met with him to begin with instead of acting like a drama queen.

From the Express-News:


On Jan. 31, I met with Dickerson. Late that day, I received a message that Zachry had terminated Dickerson's employment.

You must have missed that part.

:hat

[FromWayDowntown]

You must have missed that part.

I don't think he did.

I think the issue is why Guajardo decided to approach Zachry before speaking with Mr. Dickerson to understand what he wrote and why. By her own admission, she contacted Zachry the day before she spoke with Mr. Dickerson. Had she waited to speak with the complainant before ratting him out, it may very well be that Mr. Dickerson would have explained himself in a manner that would have eased Ms. Guajardo's concerns. That would have, appropriately, left issues concerning the propriety of Mr. Dickerson's use of company e-mail services as a matter between himself and his employer.

It's also interesting to me that we have no information concerning the January 31 meeting. She could have met with Mr. Dickerson and said "You are a racist, sir, and I'm not interested in your complaints," and still gotten away with saying she had a meeting with the man. She also could have heard him out, but it seems fairly apparent to me that she had already made up her mind about Mr. Dickerson's purported motivations.

Ultimately, the choice to tattle on Mr. Dickerson smacks (to me) of self-aggrandizing politics. Ms. Guajardo could gain political capital by approaching a major employer and standing up against apparent classism (and, perhaps, tacit racism). She chose to do that before taking the time to hear out her constituent, despite his express plea that she keep the nature of his communication private. Essentially, Ms. Guajardo took a stand -- a stand that her political haymaking is more important than actually bothering to hear out the complaints of her constituents. I may be old fashioned in my viewpoint, but that should never, ever be an acceptable practice by an elected representative.

[Nbadan]

I don't think he did.

I think the issue is why Guajardo decided to approach Zachry before speaking with Mr. Dickerson to understand what he wrote and why. By her own admission, she contacted Zachry the day before she spoke with Mr. Dickerson. Had she waited to speak with the complainant before ratting him out, it may very well be that Mr. Dickerson would have explained himself in a manner that would have eased Ms. Guajardo's concerns. That would have, appropriately, left issues concerning the propriety of Mr. Dickerson's use of company e-mail services as a matter between himself and his employer.

It's also interesting to me that we have no information concerning the January 31 meeting. She could have met with Mr. Dickerson and said "You are a racist, sir, and I'm not interested in your complaints," and still gotten away with saying she had a meeting with the man. She also could have heard him out, but it seems fairly apparent to me that she had already made up her mind about Mr. Dickerson's purported motivations.

Ultimately, the choice to tattle on Mr. Dickerson smacks (to me) of self-aggrandizing politics. Ms. Guajardo could gain political capital by approaching a major employer and standing up against apparent classism (and, perhaps, tacit racism). She chose to do that before taking the time to hear out her constituent, despite his express plea that she keep the nature of his communication private. Essentially, Ms. Guajardo took a stand -- a stand that her political haymaking is more important than actually bothering to hear out the complaints of her constituents. I may be old fashioned in my viewpoint, but that should never, ever be an acceptable practice by an elected representative.

I don't think it's a secret that Zachry has enough political pull that they can make or break you if your a city council-person. Maybe Ms. Guajardo was simply looking out for her own political neck since the e-mail could become public either way under the Texas Open Records Act. Let's say that she did try and keep this whole matter between herself and Mr. Dickerson, if Zachry, the Media, and the public had caught wind of this e-mail before the company had time to do PR control, there would have been political hell to pay for Guajardo.

There has definitely been an increased police presence in the area since Mr. Dickerson's suicide. So you can't say that his concerns have been ignored by the City.

[Nbadan]

Oh, and as far as the timing of her meeting with Mr. Dickerson, maybe it was just a scheduling conflict? The article doesn't really say. She does mention that she did not want him terminated over this e-mail though.

[Mr. Peabody]

I don't think it's a secret that Zachry has enough political pull that they can make or break you if your a city council-person. Maybe Ms. Guajardo was simply looking out for her own political neck since the e-mail could become public either way under the Texas Open Records Act. Let's say that she did try and keep this whole matter between herself and Mr. Dickerson, if Zachry, the Media, and the public had caught wind of this e-mail before the company had time to do PR control, there would have been political hell to pay for Guajardo.
There has definitely been an increased police presence in the area since Mr. Dickerson's suicide. So you can't say that his concerns have been ignored by the City.

It is a bit of a stretch to believe that Guajardo was worried about Zachry coming under fire and the possible implications on her reelection.

It was what it appears to be -- political grandstanding. Too bad it backfired on her.

[Mr. Peabody]

Oh, and as far as the timing of her meeting with Mr. Dickerson, maybe it was just a scheduling conflict? The article doesn't really say. She does mention that she did not want him terminated over this e-mail though.

Again, what did she think was going to happen when a councilwoman notifies a business that relies on city contracts, in a largely minority city, and insists that an employee is racist? :rolleyes

[Nbadan]

It is a bit of a stretch to believe that Guajardo was worried about Zachry coming under fire and the possible implications on her reelection.

It was what it appears to be -- political grandstanding. Too bad it backfired on her.

What exactly did she stand to gain by making this incident public? Public scorn? ridicule? All for a little PR? I don't think so.

[Nbadan]

Again, what did she think was going to happen when a councilwoman notifies a business that relies on city contracts, in a largely minority city, and insists that an employee is racist?

I don't know? Perhaps a memo detailing Zachry's business e-mail policies? Once she notified Zachry. it was out of her hands really, don't you think?

[Mr. Peabody]

What exactly did she stand to gain by making this incident public? Public scorn? ridicule? All for a little PR? I don't think so.

If the guy doesn't haul off and commit suicide, she comes out of this like a hero -- standing up to Mr. Northside White Guy and demanding respect for the "less fortunate."

The only snafu was that the guy lost his long-time job and killed himself.

Bet she didn't see that coming!

[Mr. Peabody]

I don't know? Perhaps a memo detailing Zachry's business e-mail policies? Once she notified Zachry. it was out of her hands really, don't you think?

Oh, c'mon, you give her too much credit.

The only reason she contacted Zachry was so that they could reiterate their email policy to the employees? That's awfully nice of her to look out for Zachry in such a fashion.

My question is, regardless of what Zachry did, why did she need to contact Zachry in the first place?

[Nbadan]

My question is, regardless of what Zachry did, why did she need to contact Zachry in the first place?

Like I said before, the email could have become public under the Texas Open Record Act, as are all letters mailed to the City Council.

[Mr. Peabody]

Like I said before, the email could have become public under the Texas Open Record Act, as are all letters mailed to the City Council.


It's bullshit. She's trying to get out of the shitstorm she created for herself by alleging that she was only looking out for Zachry's interests when she contacted them.

Do you really buy this? She was only looking out for Zachry's interests? :rolleyes

[Nbadan]

It's bullshit. She's trying to get out of the shitstorm she created for herself by alleging that she was only looking out for Zachry's interests when she contacted them.

Do you really buy this? She was only looking out for Zachry's interests? :rolleyes

No, clearly she was looking out for her own poltical interest, as all politicians do, but I can't say I fully blame her. It only takes about $100g's to own your own city council person.

[FromWayDowntown]

I don't think it's a secret that Zachry has enough political pull that they can make or break you if your a city council-person. Maybe Ms. Guajardo was simply looking out for her own political neck since the e-mail could become public either way under the Texas Open Records Act. Let's say that she did try and keep this whole matter between herself and Mr. Dickerson, if Zachry, the Media, and the public had caught wind of this e-mail before the company had time to do PR control, there would have been political hell to pay for Guajardo.

That would make sense if the concern was about Zachry. The concern was about a Zachry employee who expressed a concern about a local issue, albeit through his company's e-mail server.

How would Guajardo have been adversely affected if the e-mail had become public through an Open Records or a FOIA request? What would it have said about her? Absolutely nothing. If you're trying to insinuate that Zachry wouldn't have supported a re-election bid based on her failure to rat out a wayward employee, I think you're stretching far beyond any logical boundaries.

But my point goes beyond that issue. It's the order of things that is incomprehensible to me. Hear the guy out before you turn him in. Had a scheduling conflict? Wait until you can talk to him before you speak with his employer. It's not as if there was some incredible time lapse between the time that she received the e-mail and the time that she was able to meet with Mr. Dickerson. It's also not likely that this would have become a significant issue had she waited until 1/31 or 2/1 to approach Zachry about her concern, if she approached Zachry at all. She certainly could have given Mr. Dickerson the choice to own up to his violation of company policy (and, I'd argue that if the policy was that important to Zachry, it would have someone monitoring e-mails to ensure that there are no similar problems) and face those consequences based on his own admission. Whether she took matters into her own hands to grandstand or to save her political hide, neither is a justification for her self-serving response to this situation.

[Nbadan]

So the worse we could fault her for is lousy timing. She followed through on the e-mail, which is what I would expect any council-person to do. Remember that no matter her emotional response to the e-mail, Zachry thought there was enough cause for concern in the contents to terminate Mr. Dickerson, even against Ms. Guajardo's expressed wishes. I'm sure the company investigated this incident so it could legally 'cross the t's and dot the i's' before it made it's decision for termination.

[FromWayDowntown]

So the worse we could fault her for is lousy timing. She followed through on the e-mail, which is what I would expect any council-person to do. Remember that no matter her emotional response to the e-mail, Zachry thought there was enough cause for concern in the contents to terminate Mr. Dickerson, even against Ms. Guajardo's expressed wishes. I'm sure the company investigated this incident so it could legally 'cross the t's and dot the i's' before it made it's decision for termination.

I wouldn't agree with that at all: it's far more than lousy timing, it's incredibly poor judgment.

[xrayzebra]

I don't think it's a secret that Zachry has enough political pull that they can make or break you if your a city council-person. Maybe Ms. Guajardo was simply looking out for her own political neck since the e-mail could become public either way under the Texas Open Records Act. Let's say that she did try and keep this whole matter between herself and Mr. Dickerson, if Zachry, the Media, and the public had caught wind of this e-mail before the company had time to do PR control, there would have been political hell to pay for Guajardo.

There has definitely been an increased police presence in the area since Mr. Dickerson's suicide. So you can't say that his concerns have been ignored by the City.

And I sir, think you are full of BS. Zachry has their hand out for monies
from San Antonio. God only knows what this most wonderful councilperson
told Mr. Zachry in their conversation about said money. She is a racist!

[xrayzebra]

What exactly did she stand to gain by making this incident public? Public scorn? ridicule? All for a little PR? I don't think so.

Oh I most certainly do. Happen in SA all the time.

[xrayzebra]

No, clearly she was looking out for her own poltical interest, as all politicians do, but I can't say I fully blame her. It only takes about $100g's to own your own city council person.

Oh, really. I don't think so. Recent revelations shows you could own one
for a few thousand dollars. Short memory or just doing you normal thing, Dan.

[JoeChalupa]

I'm done with this.

[xrayzebra]

I'm done with this.

So this means we have to close the thread? Good riddance.,

[Jamtas#2]

I think that those in Unions would agree that the sum-benefits of being in a Union far surpass the negatives of being in one.

Well, not all. As I mentioned in my post, the union employees I dealt with would tell you quite the opposite. The union actually hurts them financially, and the bully scare tactics employed don't make them feel comfortable or secure. I'm sure not all unions are like this one, but it really makes me feel disgusted to see what some unions have evolved into. They were made to protect worker's rights from large companies trying to take advantage of their workers, and now some unions are just corrupt institutions taking advantage of the common worker in the guise of helping them.