Lane County commissioners voted 3-1 Tuesday, March 3, to censure Commissioner David Loveall, following an outside investigation that found he retaliated against county employees after complaints were filed about him.
The Board of Commissioners’ vote capped a more than two-hour hearing in which the public expressed support — and opposition — for Loveall. Loveall, who abstained from the vote, said little during the hearing and called it an “illegal” proceeding after commissioners declined to let his attorney, Jill Gibson, address the commissioners.
Commissioners gave Loveall and his attorney an opportunity Feb. 18 to defend himself after he requested a public hearing about the findings of the investigation. The county’s outside investigation concluded that Loveall retaliated against three county employees, including County Administrator Steve Mokrohisky, after they complained about Loveall.
In one instance, Loveall went into Mokrohisky’s office and told him to stop the complaints and “tell the employees to f— off” and threatened his job, the report found. Those underlying complaints included Loveall using religious language that included “blessings” and “kingdom work” when signing a birthday card and using the word “stripper” to describe a community member. Loveall has said the “stripper” phrase didn’t originate with him…