SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to accept an investigative report that found Supervisor Tom Patti violated the county’s equal employment opportunity and harassment-free work environment policies.
It stemmed from complaints by Camille Zapata, the chief of staff for Supervisor Kathy Miller. Zapata alleged that Patti harassed and retaliated against her after she was hired.
During that hiring process, Zapata penned an open letter describing her fight for equal pay and equal work after Patti was among three supervisors who expressed concern she would start at the highest pay scale and should start at lower pay as other chiefs of staff had done before.
A law firm hired by the county looked into 20 of Zapata’s allegations. Seven were dropped, and 10 were forwarded to the ethics ad-hoc committee. The remaining three were discussed by the Board of Supervisors.
Patti, who is running for Congress, defended himself, describing the situation as a deliberate political attack by leftist operatives.
"I would have to state, emphatically, I deny the allegations that have been made against me. I wholeheartedly disagree with the findings of the report, and I believe it’s not in my interest or the interest of the county to say anything more about these issues," Patti said during the meeting.
The investigation is not available to the public under attorney-client privilege. Supervisor Miller motioned to waive that privilege, but county attorneys advised against it.
Read the full letter from Zapata below.
The full agenda item is available below.