Glenn Bergeron, president of the East Jefferson Levee District (EJLD), is standing in the middle of every executive’s nightmare.

  Trim, balding and impeccably dressed in a dark, double-breasted suit, he surveys an emptying board room with the steady bearing one would expect of a corporate CEO appointed to a government post. He raises his left hand to his glasses and, except for a slight tremble in his fingers, there is no outward evidence that the president has just survived a public call for his own resignation.

  The complaints did not result from a breached levee system, flooded streets or water-damaged houses. In fact, engineers from the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers just described the East Jefferson levee board he has presided over since 1997 as one of Louisiana’s best hurricane protection agencies. Instead, it was a rising tide of public anger that threatened to carry Bergeron from his presidency this November night, stemming from his handling of a sexual harassment scandal that toppled the board’s executive director Alan J. Francingues from his $60,000-a-year job on June 9.

  Bergeron’s board has been in disarray ever since then. A state inspector general’s report disclosed that Francingues "engaged in inappropriate language with female members of his staff and displayed pornographic material on his office computer." Francingues, who served as executive director for more than three years, engaged in sexual misconduct that created "a hostile atmosphere in the work place" and subjected the board to potential liability for sexual harassment, the report concluded.

  The report cited numerous instances of misconduct. One woman said she occasionally had to use Francingues’ computer, and that his computer password was "f–k."

  Francingues admitted using foul language, but said it was commonplace in the office. He denied specific allegations of showing porn to employees. He rejected specific allegations by three women employees. But he was forced to resign or face termination after being confronted by Levee Board commissioners P.J. Hahn and Patrick Bossetta – two of Bergeron’s critics on the board.

  Covington attorney Rykert Toldeano, who represents Francingues, could not be reached for comment for this story. Luke Hyatt, attorney for the three women in the case, declined our requests to interview them.

  Meanwhile, the state inspector general’s report also faulted Bergeron’s levee board for failing to establish written policies and procedures on sexual harassment.

  So on Nov. 14 – more than nine years after Anita Hill’s lurid testimony of sexual harassment transfixed a nation and delayed the appointment of Clarence Thomas to the United States Supreme Court – the East Jefferson Levee District finally adopted a sexual harassment policy and grievance procedure.

  And in the network of state levee boards, East Jefferson is ahead of the curve on this issue.

bergeron has been living in public relations hell ever since Times-Picayune East Jeff-erson reporter Martha Carr broke the story of the inspector general’s probe of the scandal on June 15.

  In an earlier interview, Bergeron told Carr that Francingues resigned because of "health problems" and denied allegations that the executive director was suspected of sexual harassment.

  In fact, Francingues was under investigation for sexual misconduct. Bergeron’s "health" quotes have haunted him since then. Two state legislators accused him of "misleading the media" about the controversy.

  Through the summer, Bergeron’s board took a public pounding for its failure to adopt a sexual harassment policy, which among other things could help alleviate expensive court costs to parish taxpayers. Meanwhile, the search for a new executive director dragged on.

  The inspector general’s report came out in September, keeping the scandal alive in the public eye. On Oct. 10, Bergeron won re-election to the five-member levee board by one vote – his own. He survived rival commissioner P.J. Hahn’s challenge to his presidency by casting the tie-breaking vote on the five-member board for himself.

  The next day, the three women who claimed they were sexually harassed by Francingues also accused Bergeron of ignoring long-standing complaints against the ousted executive director. One woman, Royce Payne, resigned. She told The Times-Picayune she could no longer take "the stress and humiliation" of working for Bergeron, because of his alleged indifference to her complaints about Francingues.

  The women represent three generations. One is in her 20s, the second in her 40s and the third is in her 60s. Although their names were kept out of the press for several days after the scandal broke, everybody soon knew who they were. After all, there were only four women among the 80 people employed by the levee board. And three of the four females worked in the district headquarters at Harahan, located behind the parking lot of Smiley’s Restaurant off Jefferson Highway.

  The three women – Payne, Pam Courville and Yvette Boue – all eventually came forward to warn the agency they may sue the board for discrimination and retaliation. The fourth woman worked in the maintenance department, apparently with no complaints.

  The demographics of the scandal surprised T. Robert LaCour, a courtly gentleman and the board’s attorney since 1979. "If there was a problem," he later told Gambit Weekly, "we thought it would be out in maintenance. My thought was the men out there would curse; they get hot."

  Maybe, but the maintenance crew, along with the levee district police force, had one apparent advantage over the folks in the office: sexual harassment training. In October 1999, the East Jefferson Levee District hired a company to provide sexual harassment training for its workers. Everybody got the training, except for the disgraced executive director and the three women he was accused of harassing, according to the inspector general’s report.

it’s 5:25 p.m. on nov. 14, and the monthly East Jefferson Levee Board meeting is about to begin. A standing-room-only crowd crams into the comfortable meeting room. A Metairie-based group called Christian Conservatives for Reform (CCR) wants Bergeron’s head, though they will have to wait for their turn on the agenda.

  The CCR’s Rev. Grant Storms says Bergeron either tried to cover up years of sexual misconduct by Francinques or knew what was going on and did nothing about it. Twenty or so scowling supporters of Storms line the walls of the room.

  The meeting opens with a prayer. Everybody is urged to give "special thanks" to God for a "hurricane-free season," but also to ask him to "rebuke us for our selfish pursuits and divided agenda."

  "Let us remember to make judgments only after careful deliberation of all facts," prays Commissioner Walter Dabbs, a Bergeron ally. "Show us that conciliation and consensus are better management tools than deception and dishonesty. Work, for the night is coming."

  Bobby Bourgeois, the new executive director of the board and a former local sales manager for Waste Management disposal company, greets the board. He thanks two of his predecessor’s alleged victims – Courville and Boue – for "their help and cooperation" in helping him become familiar with the office. Levee District Police Chief R.L. "Rocky" Daigle then gives his monthly police report to the board, which includes 191 complaints, 78 citations and nine misdemeanor arrests.

  The new cases probably don’t compare to the chief’s comments to state investigators about the allegations against Francingues, however. Daigle told the inspector general that Francingues made "inappropriate comments" to him about the legs of one woman employee. Daigle added that, in February 1997, he cautioned the executive director about talking in front of the women in the office in an inappropriate way. Francingues replied that he could recall no such conversations with the police chief.

  None of this comes up at the board meeting.

  Instead, Robert Ferrara, superintendent of the maintenance department, cheerfully reports on new sandbags. Board members take turns applauding the maintenance department. The protestors wait with sullen expressions as Geneva Grille, a 32-year veteran engineer of the state Department of Transportation & Development, makes an impassioned plea for levee protection. A crowning remark is offered by Bergeron, an appointee of Gov. Mike Foster. "Our levee system is second to none in Louisiana," he says. No one argues the point. Then, at 5:58 p.m. Rev. Storms stands to address the board. And the levee breaks.

  "I’m not proud of Louisiana politics," he says. "I think it’s time that the citizens of Louisiana stand up and demand of our politicians that they get things right." The minister then delivers the kind of "sermon" that most Louisiana politicians would dread. He reads aloud a column by Times-Picayune writer James Gill on the board’s chaos. Others speak out. Bergeron listens stern-faced as one citizen, an attorney, calls for his resignation. Board attorney Lacour immediately comes to his rescue with a prepared statement:

  "I strongly caution the board not to comment on this matter, since any comment may prejudice the case and cause the Board’s insurance carrier to void the board’s insurance coverage" for liability, he says. "I realize it is difficult not to respond to unproven allegations, but a court is the best forum to determine the truth in this matter. You can only damage this board by attempting to respond to every unsubstantiated allegation."

  The board votes to go into executive session, adopts a sexual harassment policy, then returns to adjourn until Dec. 19. The meeting is over by 7:30 p.m.

  Bergeron stands alone. When asked if the levee district’s new sexual harassment policy will become a model for some 20 other levee boards statewide, he pauses. "Other boards presumably already have one in place," he politely replies. "It’s something I wish we had in place previously, but we didn’t."

  In fact, the all-male, five-member levee board of East Jefferson is not the only board that stands unprepared for these kinds of flood waters.

gov. foster, who took office promising to run government more like a business, may be surprised to learn that some levee board commissioners he appointed still have not adopted sexual harassment policies and procedures. And governmental agencies that do not have a sexual harassment policy in place are sitting ducks for a lawsuit, plaintiff attorneys say.

  "If an employer today gets caught without a sexual harassment policy and the sexual harassment is proven, the employer is more than likely going to be found liable for the sexual harassment," says Victor Farrugia, a New Orleans lawyer who specializes in discrimination law.

  In other words, if a governmental employee files a sexual harassment case against a co-worker or supervisor and wins, taxpayers will have to pay for any damages and attorney’s fees.

  Lawyer Ronald Monroe says that in all discrimination complaints filed in federal court and with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, "the first thing they look at is: do you have a sexual harassment policy that is both printed and reasonable."

  Using information obtained through public records laws, Gambit Weekly has learned that since the EJLD scandal exploded into public view, more than a few of Louisiana’s 20 other male-dominated levee boards (all of whom are appointed by the governor) have been scrambling to adopt their own sexual harassment policies.

  Some levee board members say they were crafting policies in response to other incentives, such as audits by their insurance carriers. But the state inspector general’s probe of East Jefferson provided an impetus for change for at least one levee board.

  "The first time I heard of the East Jefferson deal, I realized this is something we are not doing right either," says Daniel S. Caluda Sr., manager director of the Lake Borgne Basin Levee District in Violet. "We should have had a policy in place a long time ago. But once I found out, we jumped on to it quickly. … We are going to have [sexual harassment] classes. We are going to have training. Fortunately, we have never had any problem. And I got three secretaries looking at me as I’m talking to you."

  The all-male, three-member Lake Borgne levee board formally adopted its policy on Oct. 17. The board employs 43 workers, three of whom are female.

  Across the state, other policies are either in development or have been adopted only in recent weeks:

  • In Shreveport, Caddo Levee District attorney R. Perry Pringle replied to our public information request as follows: "The Caddo Levee District does not have a sexual harassment policy in place. At the present time, it is in the process of adopting a sexual harassment policy." The Caddo levee board employs 17 people, one of whom is female. "The number of males on the Board of Commissioners is seven and the number of females is zero," Pringle wrote. It is unclear if Caddo’s policy is being prepared in response to the EJLD scandal.

  • The Lafourche Basin Levee District in Vacherie currently does not have a policy in place, but is "working on amending our Personnel Policy." Lafourche has 25 male employees and 11 male commissioners, but only four female employees and no female commissioners.

  • In Alexandria on Oct. 4, the commissioners of the Red River, Atchafalaya and Bayou Bouef (RRABB) Levee District adopted a sexual harassment policy that tracks a memorandum from the state Department of Transportation & Development. Records show the Board took action after receiving a "written policy dealing with sexual harassment" from the Office of State Inspector General Billy Lynch dated Sept. 25 – less than two weeks after Lynch issued his final report to Gov. Foster, titled "East Jefferson Levee District Sexual Harassment." There are 28 employees at the RRABB Levee District, including one woman. Of the four levee board commissioners, there is one woman.

  • David Camardelle, president of the Grand Isle Independent Levee District, one of the smallest levee boards in the state, wrote: "At this time, the levee board does not have a sexual harassment policy but will be working on one next year." All three levee board commissioners appointed by Gov. Foster are male. The board employs one woman, part-time, as a secretary.

  • At Port Allen, Janice G. Jarreau, human resources manager for the Atchafalaya Basin Levee District, says its board of commissioners approved its first sexual harassment policy on Nov. 1. She says she was personally aware of the EJLD controversy because of Francingues’ civil service appeal. However, the Atchafalaya district adopted its sexual harassment policy in response to an audit by its insurance carrier. The Atchafalaya levee board has 14 commissioners – all male. As of Dec. 11, there were 63 employees, four of whom were female.

  • In northwest Louisiana, Mary Jane Easterly, administrative manager of the Bossier Levee District, confirms that the board’s eight commissioners – all male – formally adopted its first sexual harassment policy on Oct. 31. Easterly says the EJLD scandal was not the impetus for promulgating a policy at the levee board in Benton. "We had it, I had just never typed it out," Easterly says of the sexual harassment policy, which was modeled on "handbooks from different organizations." A 26-year veteran employee of the board, Easterly adds that she is one of two women among the 10 levee board employees.

  Previously, there was no need for a policy, Easterly continues. "We just have never had any problem. If you investigate the levee boards across the state you will find they are all a little bit different." Easterly says the board has had woman commissioners on the board in the past, one at a time. Asked why there were not more women on levee boards statewide, she replies: "I don’t know. … It’s up to the governor and the Legislature."

not all boards feel a need to adopt any policy for cases of alleged sexual harassment. "I don’t feel like we need one," says Reynold Minsky, outgoing president of the Association of Levee Boards of Louisiana and president of the Fifth Louisiana Levee District at Tallulah. "It’s not required by law. And we’ve never really had any problem." The North Louisiana levee board employs 14 people: two female office employees and 12 maintenance workers. All eight commissioners on the board are men.

  In New Orleans, Gary Benoit, senior counsel for the Orleans Levee District (OLD), emphatically disagrees with Minsky. "Based on case law, employers are strongly urged to have in place a workable and up-to-date sexual harassment policy," Benoit says. "The advice is coming from legal counsel and human resources directors nationwide. If you’re running a business – public or private – the best advice is to have in place a sexual harassment policy, regardless of the size of your workforce."

  The OLD’s sexual harassment policy has been in effect since 1988 and has been revised or reviewed annually since 1998. As of Dec. 8, the Orleans Levee Board had 282 employees: 214 males and 68 females. Of the 13 department heads, eight are male and five are female. Of the eight commissioners, two are female.

  Bennie Rousselle, president of Plaquemines Parish, who also oversees three small levee districts that have merged into the parish government, confirms the river delta parish is no longer just "a man’s world."

  "Women have moved into leadership roles here and if you don’t believe they are equals, just ask them," Rousselle says. The parish government’s sexual harassment policy has been in effect since 1997. There were 609 parish employees as of Dec. 11: 382 males and 218 females. There are seven men on the parish council and two women. The parish also maintains a 24-hour switchboard so employees with complaints can call the human resources department after working hours.

  Adds Rousselle: "The days of when you used to be able to talk to people in certain ways, and put your hands on people, are over. As a politician, I like to be warm and friendly, but not everybody is receptive when you put your hand on their shoulder. You have to be careful, especially at the public function."

  In Monroe, the Tensas Basin Levee District has a strongly worded sexual harassment policy that has been in place since June 1995. The north central levee district employs 38 people, including four women. All 11 levee board commissioners are men, but the board’s tract on sexual harassment – which applies to "customers, visitors and independent contractors" – reads like a "zero-tolerance" policy on drugs or violence:

  "[T]he Tensas Basin Levee District will not tolerate sexual harassment in the workplace. No employee – either male or female – should be subject to unwelcome verbal or physical conduct that is sexual in nature or that shows hostility to the employee because of the employee’s gender.

  "Sexual harassment does not refer to occasional compliments of a socially acceptable nature. It refers to behavior that is not welcome, that is personally offensive, that debilitates morale, and that therefore, interferes with work effectiveness."

  Steve St. Romain, president of the North Lafourche Conservation Levee and Drainage District in Raceland, presides over a unique levee board. "We don’t have any employees right now," he says. "I am the president/administrator. We have nine commissioners but no females on the commission."

  Yet North Lafourche has had a sexual harassment policy since at least 1995 when it hired one employee – a man. "After we hired him, he wrote the policy," St. Romain says. The employee has since been laid off. Much of the levee board’s work has been "contracted out" to private engineers and other contractors. However, St. Romain, who has been board president since 1992, adds, "It is not stated in our contracts that they follow our [sexual harassment] policy."

louisiana levee boards – long viewed as rich sources of political patronage – are predominantly male. The governor appoints all levee board commissioners. He makes his selections based on recommendations of the predominantly male Louisiana Legislature.

  The Legislature itself has a sexual harassment policy for employees but not for legislators, says state Sen. Paulette Irons, D-New Orleans, a past president of the Louisiana Legislative Women’s Caucus.

  "I literally had Senate president Randy Ewing walk the Senate floor with me several years ago, trying to get a bill passed that would mirror federal law," she says. The bill that did pass applied only to allegations of sexual harassment between legislative employees and supervisors.

  "They [male legislators] were really concerned about possible allegations from employees and other staffers," Irons says. "They asked me questions like, ‘What if I said, "Hi, baby," and put my hand on her shoulder?’ And I said, ‘Well, if she asks you not to do that, then you shouldn’t do it.’"

  Prior to passage of the limited state law, she says, some male staff members and supervisors had been sending pornography to female workers over state computer lines. "For a while, the women felt like they just had to take it," Irons says. "We do need these policies. I feel women are intimidated. If you are a single mom, you are not going to complain to someone about your boss unless you have another job to go to. And many women do not know about sexual harassment policies, even at places where these policies exist."

  Sexual harassment policies do not exist only to protect women. Many levee board officials we spoke with for this story discussed sexual harassment only in terms of heterosexual contacts. But Orleans Parish Civil Sheriff Paul Valteau could probably give a clinic to levee boards on the importance of a policy for all governmental employees.

  Valteau adopted a sexual harassment policy in January 1998, after WDSU-TV investigative reporter Richard Angelico confronted the popular sheriff with allegations that Valteau’s chief deputy, a man, made repeated and unwelcome sexual advances while on the job to some 15 male subordinate officers and ex-deputies. Examples of the sexual misconduct were captured by an undercover camera and broadcast on TV.

  Valteau also denied allegations in a civil suit filed by his former deputies that he knew about his top cop’s misconduct for years and failed to do anything about it. After the chief deputy’s termination, Valteau invited the local director of the EEOC to conduct a workshop for all of his employees.

earlier this month, glenn bergeron attended the 60th annual meeting of the Association of Levee Boards. The overwhelmingly male levee board commissioners were entertained by a Cajun storyteller hired for the convention.

  One levee board member present says the entertainer told the crowd a joke that went something like this:

  "Sexual harassment. If a man says something dirty to a woman, it’s called sexual harassment. If a woman says something dirty to a man, it’s called $4.95 a minute."

  It got a good laugh from most of the commissioners, the levee board member says.

  And perhaps, nervous laughter from others. .

CORRECTION: In a Dec. 12 Scuttlebutt, we misidentified City Council member Oliver Thomas’ district. He represents District B – not D, which is represented by City Council member Marlin Gusman. Gambit Weekly regrets the error.