Female Fire Chief
Accused of Harassment
By AP from the
NYTimes on the Web, September 22, 2006
MINNEAPOLIS -- Bonnie
Bleskachek knows what discrimination feels like.
After she joined the Minneapolis Fire Department years ago, male firefighters
would leave the room whenever she walked in, a union official hurled an anti-gay
slur at her because she is a lesbian, and a male comrade hit her in the head
with a soda can, according to her lawyer.
Bleskachek endured, becoming Minneapolis' first female fire chief and the only
openly gay fire chief of a major U.S. city.
But now, two years after ascending to the top job, Bleskachek is the one who
stands accused of harassing women.
The 43-year-old chief is on leave as the city conducts an internal investigation
amid lawsuits from three female firefighters who allege various acts of
discrimination and sexual harassment. Also, a city investigation found
evidence that the department gave preferential treatment to lesbians or those
who socialize with them.
''It's really kind of unfortunate because of her position and her minority
status,'' said Theresa Glomb, a professor of human resources and industrial
relations at the University of Minnesota. ''I imagine, even if found to be
false, it could be very difficult for her to regain the respect that her
achievement deserves.''
Bleskachek declined to be interviewed for this story. Her attorney, Jerry
Burg, disputed the allegations.
The lawsuits paint a picture of a woman who let her love life influence her
personnel decisions in this city of about 390,000.
In one lawsuit, firefighter Kristina Lemon claims that Bleskachek pursued a
sexual relationship with her, and that when Lemon rebuffed her, Bleskachek
denied her training and advancement opportunities. Bleskachek denies the
allegations, which span a 10-year period, in which Bleskachek moved up the ranks
from captain to chief.
The two other lawsuits center on a test for promotion to battalion chief that
was suspended and eventually canceled.
One of the plaintiffs, Bleskachek's former partner Jennifer Cornell, claims
Bleskachek suspended the test after Cornell passed the exam but Bleskachek's
current girlfriend did not. Cornell also claims she was denied other
training opportunities that could have led to higher pay.
Bleskachek denies the decisions were personal. In court documents, Burg
said the decision to deny training was made by Cornell's immediate supervisor.
In addition, Burg said, the test was found to be flawed after only two people
passed it, and several administrators, not just Bleskachek, were involved in the
decision to cancel it.
''It boggles my mind that the public jumps to the conclusion that these
decisions are motivated by the desire to have sex with someone who rebuffs
them'' or because of past romantic relationships, Burg said.
Under a settlement that was reached last week and awaits City Council approval,
both plaintiffs in the dispute over the exam will be promoted to battalion
chief, said their attorney, John Klassen.
In an interview, Lemon said she was optimistic at first to see a female
appointed chief.
''But it is disheartening to know that we don't get better, we don't learn,''
she said. ''Even after we've gone through hardships, that we can turn
around and perpetrate the same behavior ... it's a sad thing.''
In 1989, Bleskachek became the 10th woman to join the Minneapolis department,
which had hired its first female firefighter just three years earlier. She
co-founded a group that helps women train for the firefighting test, and she
helped get the city to change one part of the grueling physical test so it more
accurately reflected the tasks required on the job.
As of March, 17 percent of the city's 450 firefighters were women -- the highest
percentage among urban fire departments in the nation, according to Women in the
Fire Service.
''She put a lot of time and effort into making this a job that's available for
women,'' said Tom Thornberg, president of the Minneapolis firefighters union.
Bleskachek was appointed chief in 2004 by Mayor R.T. Rybak. Rybak's spokesman
said the mayor had no comment on the dispute.
Burg said Bleskachek did her job well and worked to change the perception of a
firehouse as a boys' club. He said the allegations are ''a terrible
negative.''
''I think it feeds into the bias that lesbians are masculine and men behave like
pigs, therefore lesbians are pigs,'' the lawyer said. ''The implications
of this for women: I think that they are frightening.''
Thornberg, the union president, said morale among the rank-and-file is pretty
good, considering the publicity surrounding the chief.
''When it gets into the press, the picture is painted that everyone is in the
firehouse having sex and doing all of these things. Well, that's not the
case,'' he said.
''We're all professionals. We're trained to do our job. ... Everybody
would just like to see this over so that we can move on, and get our good name
back and continue to do what we do.''
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