◼ CHIEF NIELSEN FIRED - heraldo June 24th, 2011 at 11:41
◼ Heraldo: EPD Chief Nielsen Dismissed Lost Coast Outpost June 24th, 2011 at 12:21 p.m.
◼ Nielsen out at EPD TS - June 24, 2011 12:30:34 PM PDT
◼ EPD Chief Garr Nielsen Fired The Journal June 24th, 2011 at 12:29 P.M. (but quotes TS's 12:30 story)
◼ EPD Chief Nielsen fired after 4 years; Harpham named interim replacement - 06/25/2011 02:40:18 AM
Rose, I would point out that no one has said or written about the reason for the firing. It may be with or without cause. Even if it were for cause, the city couldn't discuss it.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Times Standard - which is linked in the post: "Nielsen said City Manager David Tyson met with him at the Police Department at about 11 a.m. to inform Nielsen that he was being fired without cause due to “differing management styles.” Under Nielsen's contract with the city, he is due six month's severance pay if fired without cause."
ReplyDelete"Without cause" is a very specific term.
Tis true. Garr was relieved of command, fired.
ReplyDeleteThis was long overdue, dispited what larry Glass and his handful of alledged "Westies" may say.
Many are praising for Heraldo getting the scoop. Heraldo had it posted before it was over! Check the times! And that pretty much confirms that Larry Glass is Heraldo.
Garr Nielsen is not the person some seem to think, or at least say, he is.
I applaud the council and city managers action. If 15% of the facts come out the majority of Eureka citizens will approve.
It may seem that this will cause the city money but in reality it will save them money.
Garr had a great opportunity and he blew it.
Time to move on. The police department will continue to do as it has and serve the people of Eureka.
Yes, I also found the timing to be interesting, which is why I posted the times that each entity came out with the info.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a consistent pattern with heraldo, having the info before so-called official sources do.
Obviously leaked from Linda.
ReplyDeleteGarr is BFF with Larry and has him on speed dial!
ReplyDeleteThis is not a surprise, to Garr or Larry. They saw it coming. That is why the continued job hunting, the request by Atkins to extend his contract when there was over two years left on it.
Out of the blue my ass.
It would be nice to know what came out during his deposition from the most recent lawsuit against him? Obviously nothing good.
Yeah - the heraldos are coming unglued over this. And screeching about lawsuit costs (blaming Tyson.)
ReplyDeleteI have never understood, re: Tyson, how BROADENING a complicated investigation that obviously spanned a large group of people, could be characterized by the heraldos as covering up or blocking an investigation.
Lunacy.
It used to be said that the average school administrator lasts for 2 years. I don't know what the statistic is for Chiefs of Police, but I suspect it is similar. Whatever the reasons, and it is usually personalities, I think - longevity is not the norm. Perhaps we have been lucky in the past. No way of knowing what the future will bring - but anyone googling this area in considering applying for a job is quite likely to be having second thoughts at this point.
In reading Heraldo, AKA Larry Glass, it appears as if it is the same 3 people posting.
ReplyDeleteIn reading the Times Standard I learned that Glass has sponsered some kind of rally at the Veterans building. Strange neither Glass or Nielsen are veterans.
Fact is Nielsen had just finished a series of depositions for a lawsuit where the city is being sued over his conduct. Glass or Nielsen fail to mention this part of the issue. If I had to guess, and I do, I would guess that things came out during these depositions that may have been a significant factor in Nielsens early termination. As I understand it the last of these depositions was last week, certainly not a coincidence.
I for one do not believe Nielsen when he says he had no idea this was coming or that it was out of the blue.
Citizens should relax and be assured that the Eureka Police will still respond to their needs.
I do hope some will talk and reveal details to show the rest of the story.
Heraldo's followers talk about the the good old boys or the old guard. From what I know the good old boys constists of four officers, maybe 4.5. More than a 1/3 of the department has been hired by Nielsen and by Heraldo's definition are good ole boys, being that they don't like Nielsen's management style (that is putting it in favorable terms).
I wonder what took Tyson so long. I am pleased with Tyson's decision. It was the right thing to do and he did it knowing Heraldo and his ilk would mount a vicious smear campaign, which they have.
Thank you Dave Tyson.
Does anybody know how much Dave Tyson has cost the City oF Eureka in lawsuits where he was at fault?
ReplyDeleteDoes anybody know how much Garr Neilsen has cost the city in lawsuits, investigations, loss of productivity? Or how many dispatchers have quit since GN became chief of police?
ReplyDeleteThere is at least one lawsuit yet to be settled!
Is there anyone who knows how many cell phones and laptop computers Nielsen bought with city money?
Does anybody know how many complaints have been made about Nielsen's driving?! (this would shock you).
And the list goes on. There is more, much more. Nielsen is lucky they let him go as they did so much of the juicy stuff will not come out.
If GN loves Eureka so much, and is soooooo popular maybe he can stick around and run for city council? What the hell, he can't sell his house.
As to who costs the city in lawsuits - one could argue it is the people who bring the (sometimes frivolous) lawsuits.
ReplyDeleteThere's certainly profit in gaining 'go-away' money. And the City is sort of a sitting duck.
Nobody has answered yet - how does BROADENING an investigation into a serious matter, and looking to find out how many people were involved, peripherally or not, become characterized by the heraldos as covering up or blocking an investigation?
They are so intent on smearing Tyson, yet it makes no sense.
Rose posted at the Mirror:
ReplyDelete"Garr served well – by his own admission and by statistics we know that Chiefs only last a couple of years as a rule, same with school administrators and other in-charge professions. You suck it up, you take it, you move on – with grace and professionalism."
Is she unaware that Tyson has served as city manager for 11 years which is about twice as long as usual? Did she inadvertently leave city managers out of her list of in-charge professionals or did she deliberately leave city manager out of this list? Why do we have term limits on the council but not on the single most powerful and NOT ELECTED person in city government?
She further posted:
"The things you say now live forever because of the internet and podcasts. You have no idea what you are doing to you own credibility and viability.
Stop and think – would you advise a daughter or co-worker to go forward with the psycho conspiracy theory talk? The attacks on the boss/City Manager? Do you really expect that the next City Manager won’t google you when you apply?"
Which proves, despite all her disingenuous claims that people have no reason to use their real names, she understands quite clearly that people have good reasons for posting anonymously. Just another example of her deceitful propaganda.
Rose asked, "how does BROADENING an investigation into a serious matter, and looking to find out how many people were involved, peripherally or not, become characterized by the heraldos as covering up or blocking an investigation?"
ReplyDeleteThe best way to cover up malfeasance is with a broad but shallow investigation which is what Tyson ordered. The "he said - she said" interviews aren't an investigation. Hansen's attorney was able to uncover at least one of the participants in the hostile workplace environment creation, for far less than the $300,000 that Tyson spent, and then Tyson paid her off, gave her a glowing recommendation and she supposedly left town. What could she have told an investigator about the other participants if she wasn't paid off? Is "Frank Rizzo," a major participant in the Above the Law blog still at EPD?
Anonymous - you are an idiot. You have no critical thinking ability whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteFirst - I have included City Managers in similar comments posted at various times at various places - so to say it again might be redundant, but it is IMPOSSIBLE to include every relevant point every time, or every comment ends up novel length. In the interest of brevity, you try to say it in as few words as possible.
SECOND, comma, you dumbass - and you've earned this title, btw - the fact that longevity in a particular profession is hard to come by DOES NOT MEAN that there aren't EXCEPTIONS! It may be unusual for a school superintendent to serve 20 years, but it happens, and when it does, you are fortunate - it may be UNUSUAL to be able to keep a City Manager more than a few years, but you are FORTUNATE when it does happen - and in Tyson's case, if I remember correctly, he had served as interim CM several times, and when it came time to hire a new one and he applied, the City had a golden opportunity to get someone who is committed to staying in the area, not coming here while they looked for a higher paying position elsewhere, someone who knows the area, knows the ins and outs of the departments - they were lucky to get him, and he was smart to protect himself from the vagaries of political backbiting.
There - HAPPY NOW?
And, I still hold that he was doing the responsible thing, broadening the investigation - and I would add that it is not a simple matter BECAUSE - as you point out in your SECOND vitriolic comment, people have a right to free and anonymous speech, especially to criticize a public official... political free speech is the most protected free speech there is - whether YOU like it or not, broadening the investigation would HAVE TO include whether or not there was merit in any of what was said on that blog.
It is an unusual thing that people who work in a place resort to doing something like the Above The Law blog in order to get someone to listen - and their complaints deserve to be heard, looked into and aired.
So there's that.
And lastly, comma, yda, you can choose the cowardly anonymous way - and in so doing you choose not to take advantage of the most important part of our system - you have the right to speak your mind using your own name. You do not have to hide in dark alleyways, and whisper from the shadows, You are allowed to stand up and say exactly what you think - but you are a coward.
ReplyDeleteYou are also free to say stupid things - and that is what Garr and Linda are doing. They are exhibiting a disturbing lack of professionalism that calls into question their suitability for their positions. That is my opinion, and my comment was a plea to them to STOP and THINK. No need to act like a soap opera. Take it like a man, and move on.
To extrapolate that to say that you need to be able to post anonymously is just stupid.
You certainly have the right to do so - but you will find that those who use their own names are more responsible and more civil than those who do not.
I recognize the importance of anonymity, thus I allow anonymous comments - ad - since I can walk and chew gum at the same time - I can also say that it is a ridiculous notion that you have to be anonymous to post what you put up there above. What in the world would happen to you if people knew you posted a question on a blog? Nothing. In fact, some people would high-five you, some would shake their heads in puzzlement and some would disagree with you - just as might happen in any social gathering with any diversity at all.
So get over it.
Geez.
Wow. I just read the numerous comments and howling on The Humboldt Herald - if anything is going to kill off Garr's chances of getting hired anywhere - the revelations of this kind of controversy and hate will certainly do it - You guys are doing him no favors.
ReplyDeleteOK - so, anonymous... you bring up my comment on the Mirror, and you seem to be posting your question everywhere BUT there... why not just ask me there, where my comment was posted?
ReplyDeleteHere's the comment that has you so upset:
Rose, on June 29, 2011 at 9:49 pm said:
Soooooooo – the CITY cannot say anything as it is a personnel matter, or chooses not to. That’s unfortunate because it leave the speculation throttle stuck on high, and people are melting down all over.
Presumably, Garr is free to talk, and he did so on the radio and in a “My Word.” Both he and Atkins are choosing NOT to go the PROFESSIONAL way on this, but seem instead to be slinging he innuendo, her more than him.
Please, you guys, step outside yourselves. The things you say now live forever because of the internet and podcasts. You have no idea what you are doing to you own credibility and viability.
Stop and think – would you advise a daughter or co-worker to go forward with the psycho conspiracy theory talk? The attacks on the boss/City Manager? Do you really expect that the next City Manager won’t google you when you apply?
This is SO damaging. It’s heartbreaking. And I am not saying this as one of your attackers, far from it. Fueling the wildfire is just not a good idea – other people are getting off on this, and it is at your expense.
Garr served well – by his own admission and by statistics we know that Chiefs only last a couple of years as a rule, same with school administrators and other in-charge professions. You suck it up, you take it, you move on – with grace and professionalism.
The “progressive/regressives”may not want to let you do that – but YOU can stop the bleeding. Before it is too late.
Good luck in your endeavors. And Linda – for God’s sake, you have to work with your fellow councilmen. Step out of the heat of the moment. Stop the bleeding.
You’re supposed to calm the waters, guide the boat, not add fuel to the fire, and crash into the reef.
And everybody else – calm down. There’s not need for all this personal denigration. I know, I know, I have no sense of humor – but seriously… can’t we all just get along?
Or it could tell prospective employers that his firing was opposed by many of those he served and that any town would be lucky to gain such a popular chief. If the only views on the blogosphere were from people like you, DD Wilson and "Frank Rizzo," no one would want him.
ReplyDeleteYou only make a stronger case for people posting complaints anonymously when you bravely stand up for the wealthy elite with your real name. There's no gain in being an anonymous sychophant.
Rose said, "OK - so, anonymous... you bring up my comment on the Mirror, and you seem to be posting your question everywhere BUT there... why not just ask me there, where my comment was posted?"
ReplyDeleteYou are a liar, Rose. I posted that only at your coffee shop blog where you deleted it and said to post it here. I won't post at the Mirror.
I do not think I have posted anything negative about Garr Nielsen, anonymous, so as usual, your comment does not stand up to scrutiny. I am not in the same category as DD Wilson or "Frank Rizzo."
ReplyDeleteI am puzzled by the entire Nielsen situation - he came in with a lot of fanfare, into the hate-filled atmosphere that is Humboldt County.
He was welcomed. And all seemed fine.
When the "Above The Law" blog sprang up, that was also puzzling - and it indicated there were deep divisions and a lot of controversy. All was obviously not fine. Since you are such a champion of using anonymous comments to get messages out, you should be appreciative of their efforts.
I do not know exactly what the deal is - everyone is very close-mouthed about it, and getting information has not been easy, and it is not my focus, I have enough to do, but, unlike you, I think when employees go to that kind of trouble to try to get their message out, it deserves an investigation. Maybe they're honest, and have legitimate complaints, and maybe they aren't and don't - it's not fair to either side not to look into it.
I'm not always a fan of employee regulations that prevent us knowing what went on - and that applies to DeeDee Wilson and Tawnie Hansen as much as it does to this current firing. We'd all like to KNOW - and yet we cannot be told, at least not without Garr Nielsen's explicit - and legal permission, if even then.
Would it help if you all knew the reasons? Would it calm the waters? would you be shocked?
The latest post on heraldo about the circumstances of the firing, and the ordering of immediate leaving the building are certainly indicative that something serious is involved - I don't buy the notion that this is tyson being a jerk to Nielsen. When something this serious is going on, there are attorneys involved, and he was undoubtedly following advice in that regard.
So you can spout off all you want - there's more going on than you can possibly know - but I am not involved in any of it - and your attacks on me for posting that they really ought to stop it is just another case of your obsessing on my every word and deliberately misinterpreting every single time.
You're really overreaching and ought to get a life.
A comment on one of your posts, which shows you do understand why people post anonymously that is contradictory to your long history of claiming people have no legitimate reason to post anonymously, being portrayed as an obsession makes a sane person wonder how you would characterize this blog, if you were being intellectually honest.
ReplyDeleteI can't for the life of me figure out why you're choosing that hill to die on - I have, on watchpaul, had the most open policy of ALL the blogs in this county.
ReplyDeleteFrom the very beginning, though, I and others have pointed out that the really crappy stuff on the blogs - whether it was on the Buhne Tribune, heraldo, the Times Standard or Craigslist, comes from the anonymous people who do not have to own up to their comments. Even getting a nic helps temper the nastiness.
While the need for SOME people - whistleblower types - to have anonymity is understandable, it makes no sense that you need to be anonymous to make the kind of remarks you are making above.
You're a coward - you don't have the courage of your convictions, and you're stupid to boot. Deliberate mischaracterizations serve no purpose.
And admit it, at this point, if I say baby geese are cute, you will characterize that as that I said all baby geese should be checked in a dumpster.
Go find someone else to bother, Bub.
Does this have anything to do withe the Google searches for some kind of 'investigation' and Humboldt County DA? Is Paul in trouble? So you're striking out at me?
ReplyDeleteHow'd the quest for dope dealer payoffs go?
Unless, as you posted on the Mirror, I wanted to get a job working for the city, the county, the state or at any business whose owners are opposed to my views, Rose. You can't really be this dumb.
ReplyDeleteNow you're getting into personal RESPONSIBILITY. So, it's ok for you to attack people anonymously, and that's the way you want it. Bully for you.
ReplyDeleteMaybe - if you wouldn't say it under your own name - you shouldn't say it.
You're deliberately dense. Why?
People shouldn't have to put their livelihood on the line to voice their opinions, whether you agree with them or not. Readers are free to assign as much or as little credibility to anonymous comments as any other. It must really rankle when people give more credence to anonymous posters than to you.
ReplyDeleteAnon, no one who reads your crap thinks you have any credence. You lack critical thinking skills, and show no ability at logic. Your problem with Rose and the posting to the other blog make me think its the guy who knows the taste of the windows on the short bus. Is that you Mark R. Same stupid speak pattern. Same personal attacks on Rose. Your using up air the normal folks might need later.
ReplyDeleteYour use of your when you should have used you're, meaning "you are," makes you look like a poor judge of intellect. Your inability to recognize my superior logic cinches it. Your slurs which insult the mentally disabled prove you're a nasty bigot. Just sayin.....
ReplyDeleteReally Your superior intellect is a farce. Grammar has little to do with intellect, just leaning to puke it out in structure. I slurred no mentally disabled anyone. Only commented on a stupid prog fuck. As to being a bigot. I am very tolerant of many folks. Just not dip shits who mess with women because of their lack of testicular fortitude.
ReplyDeletePaul must really be in trouble. The attacks have really amped up.
ReplyDeleteRose must really be desperate when she has to delete posts she can't debate.
ReplyDeleteNo, anonymous, you're just not going to get away with falsely accusing people.
ReplyDeleteHAHA! That's a great one coming from you Rose. The fact that there was no accusation- false or otherwise, in the post you deleted doesn't matter since you and I are the only ones who know that. Right? You crazy old bitch!
ReplyDeleteYou obviously carry a lot of venom, and you have something to say - so say it, in your own name, stand up, be brave, tell the truth.
ReplyDeleteWe're talking here about Garr Nielsen, and you have interpreted my comments as an attack on him - they aren't.
The attacks, slurs and innuendo are all at the Humboldt Herald, where they are dragging all of the city councilpeople, and the city manager down the street to the gallows, you can hear the crowd, and see the pitchforks and torches... the gnashing of teeth scars the night.
Whoever you are - I feel sorry for you.