‘Toxic culture’ of sexism, racism: Health officials want Sacramento County executive fired

Several public health officials are calling for the ouster of Sacramento County’s top executive, accusing him of creating a culture where sexism, racism and intimidation tactics were used to silence dissent and undermine the public health department’s work amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The allegations were spelled out in a two-page letter sent to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors Monday, adding fuel to the criticism surrounding Navdeep Gill, the county’s top administrator. It was signed by Dr. Olivia Kasirye, the county’s public health officer who leads the coronavirus pandemic response, and other women who currently or previously worked for the county.

“Over the years, County Executive Gill has created a toxic culture rife with sexism, intimidation, racism, and a blatant disregard for public health,” the letter begins. “We can no longer stand by and allow Nav Gill to operate with impunity as he has done for years as such behavior only hurts the residents of our beloved county.”

The document briefly summarizes instances in which women, particularly women of color, felt they were singled out for abuse. The letter said women leaders in the agency have abruptly resigned because of sexist behavior, and some staff members were retaliated against after speaking up about their experiences.

They said he refused to pay overtime for public health staff.

What’s more, the letter says, county staff members were ridiculed for wearing masks during department meetings — a necessary requirement to contain the spread of COVID-19. The letter also accused Gill of making disparaging remarks about people of color and using racial slurs during department head meetings.

“We understand that the culture Nav has created is embedded within County departments and will take time to change,” the letter concludes. “However, the first step in changing such a culture is to remove the person at the top who has set the standard.”

Navdeep Gill denies allegations

Gill denied any wrongdoing and declined to comment through a spokesperson on the specific claims because it’s a personnel matter. However, Gill sent a statement to explain a heavily-criticized decision to use Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security money to cover $104 million in expenses for the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department.

He said the sheriff’s department did not receive additional money and no public health requests for funding were denied. Gill said the public health department was instructed to use money from other grants and programs instead.

“This allowed the county to maximize its Coronavirus Relief Fund allocation and use other federal program grants appropriately to address the pandemic,” Gill said in a statement.

“Without this budget procedure to free up General Fund resources, we would have had to make huge reductions in General Fund departments that provide critical services to the community and are on the front line during this pandemic.”

The optics of the decision were not well-received.

Gill has been under increasing pressure to resign after Supervisors Phil Serna and Patrick Kennedy asked him to leave his job in a memo last month. In the letter, the two lawmakers said Gill’s “questionable leadership and decision-making” were a concern and they no longer had confidence in his ability to oversee the county’s nearly 12,000 employees.

Gill, in a brief response to their letter, said he was not leaving.

“Mr. Gill’s pattern of behavior, including his treatment of our dedicated county public servants, continues to be very troubling, and it is the cumulative weight of this and other aspects of his tenure that compounds the need for him to resign,” Serna said of the new allegations.

Other supervisors silent

Meanwhile, the other three lawmakers have been silent on whether they support his removal, which requires a supermajority to agree. But lawmakers are expected to discuss his performance in a closed session meeting.

The recent criticism of Gill, who has been in the top post since 2016, is linked to his decision to allow the sheriff’s office to use a lion’s share of the $181 million in federal funding intended to aid the local pandemic response.

Gill later presided over an indoor meeting in which several county department leaders attended but many chose not to wear masks, The Sacramento Bee reported.

Several activists and community organizations who criticized the funding decision involving the sheriff’s office signed on to a separate letter that was also sent to the Board of Supervisors Monday, calling on Gill to step down.

They again said that under Gill’s leadership the county had under-invested in public health for years and denied public health requests for funding — even during the pandemic.

This story was originally published November 11, 2020 at 5:00 AM.