Lane County Chair David Loveall is under fire for allegations that he has harassed people in the workplace.
Loveall is accused of likening the leader of an unnamed agency that partners with Lane County to a “stripper” on a pole and calling a former county attorney a “spinster.”
In a Sept. 4 email, County Administrator Steve Mokrohisky said the chair’s actions resulted in a $250,000 settlement with the county attorney and fit a broader pattern.
“You have been defiant and repeatedly escalated the issues by deflecting responsibility, demeaning others and accusing those who have raised the concerns of being at fault,” Mokrohisky wrote. “Employees and taxpayers deserve better.”
The email. which was earlier reported by Lookout Eugene-Springfield, is an unrestrained rebuke of Loveall, who has the power to fire Mokrohisky, if he finds support from two other colleagues on the five-person board.
But that hasn’t happened yet, and Loveall’s usual allies — Commissioners Pat Farr, Sr. and Ryan Ceniga — didn’t respond or weren’t available to comment.
Mokrohisky’s email says the trouble began shortly after Loveall took office as a commissioner in January 2023, claiming Loveall broke workplace policy by bringing a gun and his pet to the workplace.
Later that year, he began clashing with then-County Counsel Erin Pettigrew, who later filed a tort claim notice alleging, among other things, that Lovell had called her a “spinster” and was trying to push her out in favor of the previous counsel, Steve Dingle.
Loveall said in the interview he was commenting on work-life balance and trying to connect with Pettigrew.
The complaint was settled in October 2024 when the county paid Pettigrew $250,000. Pettigrew now works as legal director for the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries. She declined to comment.
More recently, Loveall called the leader of an unnamed agency that partners with Lane County a “stripper on a strip pole” during a June meeting, according to Mokrohisky, and directed Christian terminology to an employee who “who struggles personally with religious language.”
Loveall said he was repeating the “stripper” comment made by someone else, and that he had signed a birthday card with the phrase “thanks for doing Kingdom work. Blessings, Commissioner.” He said the religious phrasing fell within his First Amendment rights.
Commissioner Laurie Trieger, who alongside a colleague make up the commission’s more liberal bloc, called Loveall’s comments sexist and praised Mokrohisky for drawing “a line in the sand when it comes to persistent disrespect and demeaning comments.”
“I really appreciate him standing up for the women in the organization and in the community,” she said.
Mokrohisky, 48, declined through a county spokesperson to comment further.
Loveall, 64, said in an interview that it was “grossly unfair” to fault him for the legal settlement, which included accusations against other employees and commissioners, adding that the litigation was only settled out of financial prudence.
He denied the allegations of sexism, saying the attacks were political pretenses, timed for his first reelection campaign next year and based on his conservative and Christian beliefs.
“The only place that is having complaints coming toward me is out of the DEI department,” Loveall said. “We live in a politically charged environment now where it behooves people to take words out of context.”