DAVENPORT, IOWA (September 6, 2023) — This statement is hereby released by Davenport City Administrator Corri Spiegel and Corporation Counsel Tom Warner, with authorization and consent from the two impacted City of Davenport employees:
On Friday, September 1, after 8:10AM, one or more members of the Davenport City Council unilaterally made the deliberate choice to leak a highly-confidential personnel-notification concerning two dedicated employees.
Subsequently, numerous media outlets have pursued this matter, fueling unwarranted speculation surrounding those employees’ absence.
This reckless release of confidential information represents a grievous violation of their employment rights and an egregious dereliction of duty.
It is essential to recognize that these employees were compelled to take leave due to a work environment that was no longer tolerable, resulting from the actions and behaviors of multiple elected officials. Regrettably, the act of disclosing this information serves as additional vindictive retaliation against already-victimized employees.
The media, more focused on sensationalism than ethical fact-finding, has been utilized as an instrument to exacerbate the harm.
The sincere hope is that those promoting a false narrative will have the decency to publicly apologize to the affected employees, extend their apologies to the impacted families, and promptly issue a formal correction statement.
Due to this being a confidential personnel matter, no further comments will be made.
