LANE COUNTY – It was announced last Friday that County Commissioner David Loveall has officially filed a federal lawsuit against Lane County, County Administrator Steve Mokrohisky, and fellow Commissioners Heather Buch, Laurie Trieger, and Pat Farr for violations of his First Amendment rights, retaliation, and violations of open meeting laws.
The 35-page lawsuit filed in the Eugene Division of the Federal District of Oregon highlights the forms of relief Loveall is seeking, including covering his legal fees and monetary damages, an injunction against actions taken against him, and declarations that the plaintiffs violated his constitutional rights.
“Members of Lane County government have engaged in a coordinated scheme to silence and penalize my political and religious speech in an attempt to affect the upcoming election in May,” Loveall said. “This cynical effort ignored constitutional rights, open meeting laws, and due process in an unrelenting effort to achieve a seemingly predetermined political outcome. This was a serious matter that should have been handled with fairness and transparency instead of the reckless and politically motivated way it was treated. I want to make one thing absolutely clear: I will not back down from standing up for and representing my constituents.”
In a press release from Loveall about the suit, he said it lays out that he was retaliated against for exercising his First Amendment right to free speech, punished for using religious speech in violation of his First Amendment right to the free exercise his religion, and his 14th Amendment right to due process was violated by a series of illegal actions taken by members of County Government including on four occasions when they made secret decisions in violation of open meetings laws.
On Feb. 10, the county released a summary of a months-long outside investigation into claims that Commissioner Loveall retaliated against Lane County staff. The report outlined how Loveall allegedly engaged in multiple incidents of retaliation against several staff members. Loveall rejected these claims, saying that the investigation is “a brazen attempt to influence the upcoming election.”
His lawsuit stems from complaints about Loveall, including allegations of inappropriate workplace behavior and retaliation against county employees. Commissioners voted to censure Loveall on March 3 after he failed to apologize after being directed to by the board.
When Commissioner Heather Buch asked Loveall if he had a statement of apology prepared to read, he responded, “I won’t participate in an illegal meeting, and I won’t respond to an illegal motion directed at me by this board at this time,” he said.
During a commissioner meeting at the beginning of February, Loveall brought his private attorney, Jill Gibson, to represent him. It was at this meeting that Gibson criticized the investigative report as legally and factually flawed, said Loveall has strong legal claims, and advised him to consider filing a lawsuit.
