The St. Paul City Council will meet in a closed-door session next Wednesday to discuss potential litigation by a former aide.
Details of what’s described in a calendar notice as “threatened” legal action by former city employee Jon Berry have not been disclosed.
Berry, a marketing professional, worked for City Council Member Anika Bowie’s office as a legislative aide, or top assistant, from May until early October of last year. Bowie then terminated him, but he was rehired that same month in a lesser capacity by Council Member Cheniqua Johnson, who had recommended him to Bowie.
On the professional networking site LinkedIn, Berry indicates he worked for the city full-time into December but is not presently employed there.
On Oct. 21, the date Berry joined Johnson’s office, Bowie shared a two-page email with 11 recipients, including the city attorney’s office and human resources, effectively making public a series of accusations against both Johnson and Berry.
Among her accusations, Bowie said that Berry was terminated for “misappropriating” travel funds from her office, spending money that was not pre-authorized during a work-related trip, missing events and showing up unprepared for community meetings. She also raised the possibility that Johnson had a prior romantic relationship with Berry.
The city later completed an investigation into Berry’s conduct, but details were not shared publicly. Had there been any discipline, the final disposition of discipline and specific reasons for the discipline would have been public data under state law.
Within days of Bowie’s Oct. 21 email, Johnson asked the city to send Bowie a cease-and-desist letter and investigate her conduct, while expressing fear of retaliation and accusing Bowie of creating a hostile work environment. She also accused Bowie of sexual harassment.
Through an outside investigation, the city in December substantiated key parts of Johnson’s workplace conduct complaint against Bowie, including that she had demonstrated “prohibited offensive, bullying and harassing behavior.”
“Bowie’s October 21 email discusses private personnel data and there was no objectively valid or productive business reason for (Council Member) Bowie to publicly disseminate the email to 11 recipients,” reads the investigation.
Bowie, who was elected in November 2023, does not list a legislative aide on the city’s Ward 1 website. On Friday, she indicated by text message she was not immediately available for a phone interview but that she had made a hire, who was still being onboarded and would be introduced to the community in February.
Berry could not be reached for comment on Friday.
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