Mayo denies sex harassment claim

CARY SPIVAK AND DAN BICE
Publication Date: January 8, 2004 Page: 02

Section:

A News

Edition:

Final

Spivak & Bice
Mayo denies sex harassment claim
By CARY SPIVAK AND DAN BICE
of the Journal Sentinel staf
Thursday, January 8, 2004
It's a new year, but some things don't change -- one more local pol has found himself in trouble.
County Supervisor Michael Mayo, already under the gun for taking freebies while on the Pension
Board, was hit this week with a sexual harassment complaint by a woman who had been his aide
from Feb. 2002 until last week.
The confidential complaint filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by
Barbara Hampton alleges that Mayo repeatedly demanded that the 42-year-old woman have sex
with him in order to keep her $27,000-a-year job.
Specifically, the complaint states:
"He demanded sexual favors (oral sex) from me. Mr. Mayo made statements to me threatening my
job. Mr. Mayo made it clear that unless I gave him sexual favors that I would lose my job. . . .
The sexual harassment started in the summer of 2002 and is ongoing. On multiple occasions, in my
car, at my home, and in Mr. Mayo's office, I have provided oral sex to Mr. Mayo, at his demand. As
recently as December 2003, Mr. Mayo demanded sex from me."
As is standard, the complaint was filed against the county and not the supervisor. The EEOC will
allow the county to respond to the allegations, and the federal agency then will investigate the
matter.
At that point, the EEOC may dismiss the charges, try to mediate the dispute, file suit against the
county on Hampton's behalf or give her the green light to file her own federal lawsuit.
Contacted on his county cell phone Wednesday afternoon, Mayo denied any wrongdoing.
"No . . . no . . . oh, no," Mayo said as we read the complaint to him.
Asked if he had sex with Hampton, Mayo said: "I'll have to find me an attorney. I'm sorry -- no, I
didn't do nothing like that to her."
Mayo, who is married, then cut of the interview.
The veteran pol claimed that he had no inkling that Hampton was yelling sexual harassment. That's
a surprising denial considering, sources say, that her attorney, Rodney Cubbie, and county lawyers
arranged recently for her to be transferred out of Mayo's office.
Hampton declined comment, referring questions to Cubbie.
"Her rights were violated, and she was treated in a degrading fashion, that's what it comes down to,"
Cubbie said. "I don't like it when people who have power take advantage of people who don't."
The complaint could not have come at a worse time for Mayo, who represents a district that snakes
through the city's north side.
A supervisor since 1994, Mayo faces three opponents -- Gerald Glazer, Frank Byrne and Craig
Coleman -- in the Feb. 17 primary for the job that pays $52,227 annually.
If any of his opponents chooses to go negative, the incumbent has already provided them with
plenty of ammunition -- even before his ex-aide made her sexual harassment allegations.

 A civil complaint filed last year against eight current and former Pension Board members,
including Mayo, alleges that the group improperly accepted thousands of dollars worth of gifts and
freebies from investment bankers and other vendors.
An investigation by the Journal Sentinel last May found that Mayo took gifts totaling $1,780 since
1998. Mayo, who is no longer on the board, was among those who defended the practice as routine
in the world of business. He also used the "Excuse me, I forgot" defense to explain why he failed to
report some of the gratuities on ethics forms.
Among the items he forgot to make public: A May 1999 trip to a Pebble Beach golf resort on the
California oceanside, compliments of a county money management firm. The total tab for Mayo ran
to $2,600, with about a grand coming from the taxpayers and the rest from the vendor.
So is Hampton filing her sexual harassment complaint now to kick a guy when he's down and
fighting for his political life?
Cubbie, a former federal prosecutor, pleaded innocent.
"I didn't know this guy was up for election," Cubbie asserted, "and I don't care."
-----------Cary Spivak and Dan Bice can be contacted by phone at (414) 223-5468 or e-mail at
sb@journalsentinel.com.
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