Report Says Brooklyn Park Council Member Violated Code of Conduct
An investigation says a Brooklyn Park city council member violated the city’s Elected Officials Rules of Procedure and Code of Conduct.
The report stems from a hostile workplace complaint filed against Brooklyn Park City Council Member Maria Tran in January.
In the complaint, a Brooklyn Park city staff member wrote that Tran had “repeated public accusations and disparaging innuendos” on several occasions.
“She has demonstrated a pattern of behavior that’s intended to dehumanize me, humiliate me, and attack my integrity, professional credentials and competence,” the complaint read. “All the attacks are based on inaccurate information and conspiracy theories around process and outcomes that are regulated by state statute, city ordinances, policy and guidelines.”
Meanwhile, Tran previously told CCX News that she feels she has faced “intimidation and disrespect” while on the council. She has also publicly referred to other council members as “bullies” during meetings.
“They all bully, you know?” Tran said during an Aug. 28 council meeting. “Right here in the chamber. This is not the first time. Purposefully. Men with no balls … and no education either. Very low, low, low.”
In February, the city of Brooklyn Park hired attorney Dyan J. Ebert of Quinlivan & Hughes P.A. to investigate the staff complaint against Tran.
It’s unclear if the council will take any formal action against Tran at this time. They met in a closed session on Monday, May 20, to discuss allegations against “an individual subject to the city council’s authority.”
This comes after Brooklyn Park City Council Member Boyd Morson was censured on April 15 for violating the code of conduct. That was his second censure. The first occurred in 2022.
Investigative Report
CCX News obtained the 35-page redacted investigative report, which is dated April 19, 2024, through a Minnesota Government Data Practices request.
According to the investigation, Tran publicly expressed criticism of an employee’s work, asking them to step down from their position with the city.
“Both Mayor [Hollies] Winston and City Manager Jay Stroebel advised Council Member Tran that her comments should not be made [redacted],” the report read. “Council Member Tran disagreed and claimed she was being bullied and denied the opportunity to express her opinion about the issues being presented to the City Council.”
Code of Conduct Violation
The investigative report has three main findings.
First, Ebert found that Tran violated the Elected Officials Code of Conduct.
That code states that council members should “never publicly criticize an individual employee” and should rather refer their complaints to the city manager in a private form.
Ebert said Tran violated that rule when she asked the complainant to step down.
According to Ebert, Tran received training on the code of conduct after she was elected.
The investigation “did not reveal any justification or reasonable explanation for … Tran’s decision to disregard the requirements,” of the code when interacting with the complainant, Ebert wrote.
Investigation Related to Race
According to the investigation, the complainant also believed there was a racial element to Tran’s criticisms.
Ebert called that claim “unsubstantiated,” saying the investigation did not reveal a basis to “definitively conclude” that racism impacted her interactions with the complainant.
“Council Member Tran confirmed she is generally skeptical of most city officials and employees, regardless of their race (and gender), and this was also borne about by other aspects of the investigation,” Ebert said. “Council Member Tran said she simply does not believe that city officials and employees are doing their jobs or that the city as a whole is being transparent about the work being done and the decisions being made.”
City Responsiveness
A third finding states the following: “Council Member Tran’s assertion that it would have been futile to direct her concerns about [redacted] or [redacted] work performance to City Manager Jay Stroebel as required by the code of conduct is unsubstantiated.”
Tran apparently told the investigator that her concerns were “routinely ignored, not taken seriously, or not otherwise addressed.”
The investigator then found several instances where her concerns were addressed in some form by city staff members.
“While Council Member Tran may not have been satisfied with the actions taken or the follow up that was done to address her various concerns and complaints, the investigation confirmed there is insufficient evidence to support Council Member Tran’s claim,” Ebert wrote.
Complainant Interview
Ebert interviewed several city staff, council members and residents as part of the report.
The interview with the complainant is lengthy with heavy redactions.
However, the complainant kept a log of their interactions with Tran.
They listed approximately 10 negative interactions with Tran that dated back to before her election.
In some instances, the complainant said Tran requested information related to city issues, but later questioned the data, or claimed to have never received it.
In another, Tran asked the complainant to open a bottle of water. They reported feeling as though it was an attempt to “dehumanize” them and treat them like “slave labor.”
“[Redacted] was very put off by this and characterized it as a very disrespectful and strange interaction,” Ebert wrote.
They also reported feeling “humiliated and embarrassed” after Tran asked them to resign from their position.
Tran’s Interview
Tran’s interview was also quite lengthy and the typed description took more than four pages.
The interview showed a deep distrust of city staff members.
Tran “told me that she feels the complaints are being made against her because she is asking questions about the city staff and how they are spending money,” Ebert wrote.
She believes the city is “monitoring her emails and filtering out those that they do not want her to receive,” according to the report.
In another instance, Tran smelled marijuana in city hall and accused city staff members of smoking on the property.
Tran “does not believe city employees are actually working when they’re not at city hall, even though she is aware that some staff work remotely,” Ebert wrote. “She thinks they are being dishonest and not really working, but could not explain why she held this belief.”
She also told Ebert that she believes city staff exclude her, “will not talk to her, and ignore her when they see her.”
Tran believes that she and Morson have been discriminated against because of their age. She also believes she has been discriminated against because of her race.
“[Council Member] Tran expressed feelings of being ‘in danger’ because she is speaking her mind and defending her constituents,” Ebert wrote. “She said she does not feel comfortable being at city hall after dark. She said she feels stifled at city council meetings because her microphone is cut off when she speaks.”
Mayor’s Interview
Winston was also interviewed for the report.
The mayor reported having “concerns about CM Tran’s behaviors since taking office,” according to the investigation. “He initially tried to build a good rapport with CM Tran and tried to make her feel comfortable and valued. He believes CM Tran has a fundamental misunderstanding of the city’s weak mayor system and her role as a member of the city council. Mayor Winston thinks CM Tran thought after she was elected that she would command immediate respect or automatically be treated as having more authority than she (or any member of the city council, including him) actually has. Some of Mayor Winston’s interactions with CM Tran have also caused him to believe that CM Tran may not comprehend or understand how the city council works.”
He went on to say that Tran “confuses disagreement and debate with disrespect and bullying. If someone does not agree with her position, CM Tran believes she is being personally attacked and immediately jumps to the conclusion that that something improper or illegal is taking place.”
