www.delmartimes.net
NORTH COAST - JUNE 18, 2015 - PAGE A3
Perkins steps down from SD County Board Roberts’ aide sues two former staffers of Education due to health reasons • Applications now being accepted to fill District 5 board seat BY KAREN BILLING Former Del Mar Union School District trustee Doug Perkins has resigned from his position on the San Diego County Board of Education, after suffering a massive hemorrhagic stroke in February. Perkins’ resignation was effective June 8. According to the Caring Bridge website maintained by his wife, Carolyn, Perkins continues to make progress in his recovery. “In light of his situation, I made the decision to resign him from the County Board of Education. It was a sad moment for me as I recalled his campaign, the wonderful support he received and for the miraculous win,” wrote Carolyn on the website. “I will always remember being downtown on election night, watching the results and being in disbelief that he was ahead!” Perkins served on the Del Mar Union School District board for seven years before being elected to the county board. “Doug was elected to the board because of his commitment to the education of students,” said County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Randolph E. Ward in a press release. “Now is the time for him to concentrate on his health and well-being.” At its meeting on June 10, the County Board of Education established a timeline and procedures for filling the District 5 board seat vacated by Perkins. The appointee will hold office until January 2017. A successor will be elected in 2016 to complete the term ending January 2019. To apply for the appointment or to download an application for the vacancy, visit www.sdcoe.net/Board/Pages/board-vacancies.aspx, or request an application by calling 858-292-3515 or emailing kbowers@sdcoe.net. Applications must be submitted no later than noon July 1. The board is expected to interview all eligible candidates, make the appointment, and swear in the new board member at its regular meeting on July 8.
New details released on body found in April in CV canyon BY KAREN BILLING The San Diego County Medical Examiner has released information on a body found in a Carmel Valley canyon on April 16, ruled to have been a suicide. According to the medical examiner, the deceased was a single 27-year-old Ukrainian female who lived in Carmel Valley. On April 16, two 11-year-old boys were riding their bikes along Carmel Knolls Drive and Sanddollar Court and decided to walk up the drainage channel on the hillside. Approximately halfway up the hill, one of the boys came across the woman’s body. A revolver was in her right hand. One of the boys’ aunts lived nearby and the boys went to tell her what they had found. A 911 call was placed and officers arrived on the scene. The woman’s death was confirmed without medical intervention because of obvious signs of decomposition. The woman’s family said she had a history of mental illness and that they had not seen her since late February.
Bob & Kathy Angello
BY JOSHUA STEWART, SPECIAL TO THE CV NEWS, DM TIMES, SB SUN County Supervisor Dave Roberts’ driver and assistant, Harold Meza, has sued two of his former co-workers, contending that they created a hostile work environment. Meza filed a lawsuit against Roberts’ former chief of staff, Glynnis Vaughan, and his former scheduler, Diane Porter, claiming that when the duo were employed by the county they conspired to “spread despicable rumors in the workplace.” The suit, filed June 10, said the pair spread information “to the effect that Meza was nothing but a ‘barista’ and a ‘young male driver’ having an affair with Supervisor Roberts, and that Meza was generally unfit for his position.” He’s seeking an unspecified amount for general and special damages, punitive damages, attorney and court fees and other relief. The county and Roberts were not named as defendants. Vaughan and Porter, in earlier formal complaints to the county, accused Roberts of having an inappropriate relationship with Meza. But they did not say the relationship between the two men was sexual; rather, they claimed that Meza had a favored status that was disruptive across the office. On June 11, Meza met with the media for the first time since three women resigned from Roberts’ office in April, setting off a scandal that has hounded the first-term supervisor. Meza read prepared remarks outside the downtown courthouse and denied any sort of inappropriate relationship with Roberts. Meza’s attorney, Dan Gilleon, said that Porter and Vaughan’s remarks about the relationship between Meza and Roberts, as well as a comment Porter made about a marital problem, created a hostile work environment for his client. “Those are all related to sexual orienta-
tion or gender,” Gilleon said. Gilleon initially said that his client’s decision to file the lawsuit wasn’t related to legal claims Porter and Vaughan filed with the county. Later, Gilleon said that the claims were a factor in his client’s decision. “It wasn’t until all this nonsense erupted that he decided to pursue his rights,” Gilleon said. Chris Morris, Porter’s attorney, said that since the accusations relate to his client’s work as a county employee, the county’s lawyers should be responsible for her defense. He said he will soon request that the county represent her in the Meza case. Vaughan’s attorney, Lynne Lasry, was not in her office and did not respond to a request for comment sent by email. The county said it will consider requests to represent the women. “This is a very complex situation and getting more complicated every day. We will evaluate any request we get, when we get it,” county spokesman Michael Workman said. In the lawsuit, Meza says that he and Porter were on friendly terms until her husband, a sailor in the Navy, returned from deployment. Other documents show he came home during the last week of February. After the homecoming, Porter’s demeanor changed, the lawsuit said. She became “short-tempered” and at one point made a “vivid, obscene comment to Meza related to intimate marital problems she was experiencing” that offended Meza. After that, he tried to avoid Porter, but he said Porter teamed up with Vaughan to wage an intraoffice war against him. The lawsuit says they harassed him, entered his office without permission just to hide his personal property, and told him that nobody knew what he did at work. They said he “smelled bad,” was “socially awkward” and was a “teacher’s pet.” See AIDE, page 20
kbangello@gmail.com
858.775.9100 See AIDE, page 20
Sun Valley Road Lot | 1.27 Acres | $1,195,000
840 Highland Drive | 4 Bed, 3.5 Bath | $3,200,000
1955 Jimmy Durante | 4 Bed, 4.5 Bath | $3,750,000
858.775.9100 Bob
619.742.4800 Kathy