QuickTake:

After former Lane County counsel Erin Pettigrew resigned in 2024, county commissioners publicly voted to pay her a $250,000 settlement for unspecified claims. Newly released records obtained by Lookout Eugene-Springfield detail her allegations for the first time.

After Erin Pettigrew resigned from her job as Lane County counsel, county commissioners paid her $250,000 to settle her claims against the county. 

When commissioners approved the settlement in October 2024, they did not publicly air the allegations or details of Pettigrew’s claims. Under the agreement, neither side admitted fault. 

But tort claim records obtained by Lookout Eugene-Springfield outline Pettigrew’s allegations, including a pattern of gender discrimination, comments and hostility from some male elected commissioners, particularly current commission Chair David Loveall and, to a lesser extent, Commissioner Pat Farr.

The records provide a former high-level county staffer’s firsthand accounting of interactions with the commission chair. Pettigrew alleges those interactions include a time when Loveall invited a man with a history of harassing county officials and making death threats to speak at a public meeting, when that individual wanted to complain about her. In a separate one-on-one meeting, the tort claim says, Loveall compared her to a “spinster.”

Loveall didn’t respond to multiple emails, text messages or phone calls at the time of publication. A county spokesperson, Devon Ashbridge, declined to comment. 

Problems start early

Pettigrew started her role as county counsel in January 2023. By then, she was already an experienced attorney who worked for the Oregon Judicial Department.

Her tort claim, filed in September 2023 while she still was county counsel, detailed her experiences in the early months of her employment at the county. 

A tort claim is a precursor to a lawsuit that gives a defendant an opportunity to settle a case before a lawsuit is filed. Through a public records request, Lookout Eugene-Springfield obtained Pettigrew’s tort claim, which details her accounts of her interactions with Loveall.

When Pettigrew and Loveall met in May 2023 for a one-on-one visit to set goals, the commissioner told her she looked worn down and tired and he was “worried about (her) becoming a spinster,” the tort claim said. 

Loveall, a Navy veteran, told Pettigrew her job was a “swim test.” Using a military analogy, Loveall compared her to someone thrown into a pool for training with weights fastened to them and barely staying above the water, the claim said. 

The conversation continued as Loveall spoke about an executive session the day before, the claim said. Loveall mentioned positive comments about the former county counsel, Steve Dingle, the claim said, and “smugly asked” Pettigrew how it felt to hear that praise and be compared to Dingle.

“These were hostile, demeaning, belittling, and gender biased remarks which have added to the hostile work environment in which Ms. Pettigrew has been working,” the tort claim said.

By that time, Pettigrew already had experienced other problems, including hostility from male staffers in the county counsel’s office and canceled meetings with Loveall and Farr, then the commission’s chair, the tort claim said. 

Farr declined to comment.

In the summer of 2023, Pettigrew invited Loveall and Farr to a mediated conversation to discuss concerns and resolve differences in a collaborative way. Her invitation was not accepted, the claim said.

Pettigrew said she observed and heard reports from others about the two commissioners making “dismissive and rude comments” toward and about female staffers and elected officials, the claim said. 

In response, Pettigrew urged the county to offer training on microaggressions and discrimination to correct the behavior and reduce the county’s potential liability. That did not happen except for one generalized training event that was less than two hours, her claim said. 

Contacted by Lookout Eugene-Springfield, Pettigrew declined to comment about the case.

In 2023, the county human resources department looked into her complaints, the tort claim said. The county also hired Dian Rubanoff, an employment attorney, to investigate the allegations, the tort claim said.

Problems persist 

Pettigrew gave the county notice of her resignation in April 2024 and left in June 2024. She took a job with the state as an attorney for the Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries. 

In July 2024, Pettigrew filed a supplemental tort claim with more details. 

“Commissioner Loveall’s misconduct continued unchecked and escalated to the point that Ms. Pettigrew’s physical safety was threatened by Commissioner Loveall,” the claim said. “He invited a mentally unstable man, well known by Commissioner Loveall and others at the County to a meeting of the County Commissioners.”

The individual, Michael Hejazi, has sent “escalating, hostile and offensive” emails to commissioners about Pettigrew, the tort claim said. Further, Loveall “encouraged him, privately, to come to a public meeting to talk about Ms. Pettigrew. Commissioner Loveall provided Mr. Hejazi with pointers and told him that he has valuable things to say,” Pettigrew alleged.

The tort claim said Hejazi has a “long history of harassing and making death threats to County employees and elected officials.”

Separate Lane County District Court records show the man, whose full name is Hamid Michael Hejazi, has a record that includes convictions for disorderly conduct, harassing government employees and assault. 

A Lane County deputy’s affidavit about a July 2024 incident, for example, alleges that Hejazi threatened a courthouse security guard who told him to stop digging a hole in flower beds. Hejazi responded by saying: “You’re going to die,” and “I’m going to kill you,” the affidavit said.

“Hejazi has an extensive history in Lane County and has Officer Safety alerts indicating he has threatened to kill law enforcement officers, court staff and judges,” the affidavit said. “The alerts also indicate he is hostile and aggressive.”

The tort claim recounts that a “safety plan” put in place after the incident in which Loveall encouraged Hejazi to speak at the public meeting was unsuccessful. The tort claim says the plan largely placed the onus” on Pettigrew to avoid Loveall.

“Commissioner Loveall was unwilling to provide an advance schedule of his plans to be in office and was unapologetic about encouraging a mentally ill man in his ongoing harassment of Ms. Pettigrew,” the tort claim said.

The nature of other interactions is more shrouded.

When Lookout Eugene-Springfield filed a public records request for emails that county administrator Steve Mokrohisky wrote about meetings with Loveall in July, the county declined to provide them, citing attorney-client privilege. 

That denial came after the county required — and received — a $65.38 payment to search the administrator’s email inbox.

Ben Botkin covers politics and policy in Lane County. He has worked as a journalist since 2003, most recently at the Oregon Capital Chronicle, where he covered justice, health and human services and documented regional efforts to combat fentanyl addiction. Botkin has worked in statehouses in Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma and, of course, Oregon. When he's not working, you'll find him road tripping across the West, hiking or surfing along the Oregon Coast.