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Sexual Harassment

491: John Valdivia

Cajsa LilliehookLeave a comment

John Valdivia is the former mayor of San Bernadino, California, and was a candidate for California State House District 31 in the open primary until he dropped out. He was accused of sexual harassment by two former City employees. Then another. Then his top aide accused him of retaliation for refusing to create false evaluations of the women.

Karen Cervantes, the mayor’s former assistant, and Mirna Cisneros, a former customer service representative for the city of San Bernardino claim Valdivia harassed them, making their work untenable. According to Cervantes, Valdivia demanded sexual favors and threatened retaliation if she did not comply. He also suggested she perform a sexual act to arrange meetings, etc.

The women had complained of sexual harassment before and were ignored. They felt they had no choice but resign. It was not until they retained lawyers that the City responded. Then a third woman came forward. After that, Valdivia pressured his top aide to manufacture poor evaluations of the women’s work and when he refused and notified the City that Valdivia was improperly trying to influence the investigation, he was laid off.

SAN BERNARDINO - More claims emerge of Valdivia’s bullying February 27, 2020 | Press-Enterprise, The (Riverside, CA) Author/Byline: By Brian Whitehead bwhitehead@scng.com @bwhitehead3 on Twitter | Page: 1 | Section: News 820 Words | Readability: Lexile: 1560, grade level(s): >12 Read News Document A third former San Bernardino employee has accused Mayor John Valdivia of creating a hostile work environment during her time working in his office. In an interview Tuesday,Jackie Aboud, a former legislative field representative, said she received no training after she was hired in April 2019, but Valdivia expected her to know what she was doing and what he was thinking “before he was even thinking it.”
“If we had any questions,” Aboud said, “or were confused about what he wanted and asked for more information, he would get upset with us for not already knowing what he wanted.” Valdivia took pleasure in belittling his employees, Aboud added. “We were all walking on eggshells around him,” she said. “We were all constantly scared and terrified of what he was going to do next, what kind of mood he was going to be in. “It was very difficult to get used to that type of environment.” As a part-time legislative field representative, Aboud, 26, appeared at community events and meetings on behalf of the Mayor’s Office and was responsible for working cases concerning issues residents raised either by phone or in person. She also drove around the city to report easily solvable issues.
Aboud said her first job out of Cal State San Bernardino had no set schedule and was subject to Valdivia’s whims. She alleges the mayor’s demands “were impossible and constantly changing.” Valdivia’s comments, Aboud said, “made us feel small and like we were incompetent.” Aboud said she reported Valdivia’s behavior to human resources officials on multiple occasions, but nothing changed. She was fired Jan. 6 and given no reason for her termination, she said. “(Certain employees) were all under the same agreement that this was a hostile work environment and (Valdivia) does not truly care about serving the city of San Bernardino,” Aboud said. “He only cared about us serving him personally and (he) made that very clear.”
Aboud’s accusations come three weeks after Mirna Cisneros, 30, and Karen Cervantes, 24, went public with allegations that the mayor belittled, berated and subjected them to offensive and graphic sexual innuendo and comments, creating the hostile work environment that prompted their resignations in late January. Cisneros, a former customer service representative, also claims Valdivia told her last year he “is always receiving gifts and not reporting them.” The two have filed claims with the city detailing how San Bernardino’s top elected official allegedly abused his power. Valdivia, 44, has called the women’s allegations “false” and “politically driven” and has declined to comment further until an independent investigation ordered by City Hall into the claims is completed.
“It’s obvious to anyone who would see this case to see how it’s so nonpolitical,” Rancho Cucamonga attorney Tristan Pelayes, who is representing the three women, said Tuesday. “It has nothing to do with politics. It has everything to do with (Valdivia) being a predator. Anyone can look at who the victims are and realize that these are not people with political aspirations to take his seat or go to Congress or move up, nothing of the sort.” Two years ago, City Attorney Gary Saenz warned Valdivia that his behavior toward city employees was “interfering with the administration of the city” and in violation of the Municipal Code. A councilman at the time, Valdivia was told his conduct could place the city at risk for liability related to a hostile work environment. Shortly after assuming the mayor’s seat in December 2018, a second city official warned Valdivia about his behavior.
Former human resources director Helen Tran, who left the city in October for the same post in West Covina, admonished the first-year mayor in March 2019 for having Cisneros attend after-hours events and meetings with him. While told such events were outside the scope of employment for a customer service representative, Valdivia continued to take Cisneros on trips with him, according to Cisneros’ claim. “It scares me that this person is still in office and still not willing to back down or admit to any of these actions,” said Aboud, who plans to file a claim against the city, “because, although I did not receive any sexual harassment toward me, it terrifies me that my co-workers did experience that and people are still subject to experiencing that, even after all of this ends.” On Feb. 19, two weeks after Cisneros’ and Cervantes’ allegations came to light, Councilwoman Sandra Ibarra urged Valdivia to step down if they were true.
Two days later, Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Redlands, backed Ibarra in a Facebook post. “Our community will not tolerate this type of behavior and harassment,” he wrote. “We need to empower these women to share their stories, and bring to light all the facts of this case. If these allegations are true, the mayor should step down immediately.” In addition to Aboud, Pelayes said Tuesday another accuser will come forward with allegations against Valdivia at a news conference scheduled for 10 a.m. todayat City Hall, 290 N. D St. in San Bernardino.

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