Inquiry Clears Personnel Director

A special investigation has cleared Riverside County’s human resources director of racism and corruption allegations filed this year by a county employee, according to a report released Tuesday.

The county Board of Supervisors hired an outside attorney to review accusations that Director Ron Komers discriminated against black employees, made racist statements and funneled county business to a relative.

Members of African American community groups said the investigation was superficial and incomplete and asked the supervisors to continue reviewing the allegations.

But the supervisors expressed confidence in the investigation and Komers, and they voted unanimously to accept the findings of the report.

“It’s too bad Mr. Komers, or any department head, has to go through the type of purgatory you were in,” said Supervisor Bob Buster. “I hope that stigmata has lifted.”

In April, the county employee relations manager at the time, Debrah Freeman, told county supervisors that Komers, who is white, made and condoned racist statements, such as “Black women speak too loudly,” and discriminated against blacks in staffing decisions. She said he also manipulated evidence sent to the county grand jury and used his position to get his son’s company a no-bid contract.

Freeman, who was also the county’s chief labor negotiator, was on leave at the time she made the allegations and has since been demoted to analyst in the county’s temp program.

The county Human Resources Department send a letter to Freeman explaining that she was demoted because of dishonesty, incompetence, inefficiency and discourteousness, according to court records. Freeman was accused of trying to force subordinates to reveal secret grand jury testimony, publicly berating employees and other rude behavior.

She declined to comment after the hearing Tuesday.

After Freeman leveled the charges against Komers, the county hired local attorney Jack B. Clark Jr. to investigate the allegations.

On Tuesday, Clark submitted a 19-page summary of the investigation, based on interviews of more than 50 witnesses and a review of hundreds of documents.

Clark concluded that none of Freeman’s allegations could be proved. He also noted hiring, promotion and disciplinary statistics that disputed Freeman’s accusations of discrimination.

“I cannot look into Mr. Komers’ heart -- that’s not what I was hired to do,” Clark said during the supervisors’ meeting. “Objectively, we cannot sustain these allegations.”

Komers expressed relief after the report was released.

“I am proud to be an employee in this county, where truth is the objective and goal of any investigation or inquiry,” he said. “I am not a racist. I’m not corrupt. I have not misused my authority.”

Komers said he had created trailblazing affirmative action plans in previous jobs, and a minority small-business program.

Members of black community organizations, saying the investigation was inadequate, called for an audit of the management of the Human Resources Department. “The public we represent is still waiting to see if you take these allegations seriously,” said Jennifer Vaughn-Blakely, chairwoman of the Group, a coalition of local African American community leaders.