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Despite censure, lawsuit, calls for resignation, Jones still running in May 1 primary

Posted at 7:57 am May 1, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Anderson County Commission, which is pictured above on March 20, 2018, unanimously censured Anderson County Circuit Clerk William Jones on Feb. 20, and asked him to resign after sexual harassment allegations were reported. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Anderson County Commission, which is pictured above on March 20, 2018, unanimously censured Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk William Jones on Feb. 20, and asked him to resign after sexual harassment allegations were reported. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 10:40 a.m.

CLINTON—He’s been accused of inappropriate behavior that includes unwelcome sexual advances, unwanted touching, and lewd and vulgar text messages. He’s been unanimously censured and asked to resign by the Anderson County Commission. He’s been sued in federal court. And some residents have joined commissioners in asking him to resign, or at least not seek re-election.

Despite those pleas, though, Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk William Jones, who has denied many allegations and called others false, is seeking re-election in the Anderson County Republican Party primary election on Tuesday, May 1. Jones has filed counterclaims in federal court and filed a defamation lawsuit in state court.

Some of the sexual harassment allegations appear to have been forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies, including the Tennessee Attorney General, Tennessee Department of Labor, and Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts, according to records released by Anderson County. It’s not clear which outside agencies, if any, might be investigating the complaints, or whether the local district attorney general might be investigating.

Willliam T. Jones

Willliam T. Jones

Commission censures Jones, asks him to resign

The accusations against Jones, who is seeking his second four-year term, were publicly disclosed during a review of a sexual harassment complaint at an Anderson County Commission meeting on February 20.

During that meeting, Kim Jeffers-Whitaker, Anderson County’s chief deputy director of human resources and risk management, said her department had received five reports of inappropriate workplace behavior by Jones.

“The five reports create a harassing pattern,” Jeffers-Whitaker said.

She said the reports are supported by two affidavits and four sworn statements that the county’s human resources department obtained from the victims, who include four past or present employees and one citizen.

According to Jeffers-Whitaker, the alleged instances of unprofessional conduct include: [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2018 Election, Anderson County, Front Page News, Government, Government, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: 14th Amendment, Anderson County Circuit Court, Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk, Anderson County Commission, Anderson County Human Resources, Angeleque McNutt, Arthur Knight, Brittany Humphrey, censure, civil rights, Curtis L. Collier, Darren V. Berg, David Stuart, defamation, Equal Protection Clause, Gail Harness, Harry Schatz, hostile work environment, Hugh Ward, inappropriate workplace behavior, Jay Yeager, Kim Jeffers-Whitaker, Linda Whitson, Marsha Livingston, NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, primary election, retaliation, Richard E. Collins, Russell Bearden, sexual harassment, sexually explicit messages, Tennessee Human Rights Act, Terry Frank, Tim Isbel, U.S. District Court, unwelcome sexual advances, William Jones

Guest column: Moving forward in Oak Ridge

Posted at 11:16 am February 23, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Guest Columns 1 Comment

With the recent uproar centered around the Police Department in our rear view mirrors, I think it is important to review what was accomplished and why.

The decision to perform a functional audit on the Police Department is a good step especially when taken in context. These kinds of audits focus on best practices, applied over the department’s field of responsibility that need to be reviewed periodically depending on a department’s complexity and size. Besides just by a calendar rotation, other events to trigger such reviews may include leadership turnover in the department to give incoming management a clean slate of actions and priorities.

I believe that since this door has been opened, it would be wise to broaden it city-wide. Think about whether such an audit could have raised awareness of our lack of proper sewer maintenance over the decades and prevented the rush and financial inconvenience that the mandate from the EPA imposes. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Guest Columns, Opinion Tagged With: audit, Bruce Borchers, censure, Charlie Jernigan, Chief Akagi, City Charter, City Council, city manager, drug problem, Jim Akagi, Joe McCarthy, leadership, Mark Watson, Oak Ridge, Police Department, policing programs, superintendent, U.S. Constitution, U.S. Senate

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Classifieds

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