County Council weighs release of Floros report

The Salt Lake County Council may decide today to deny release of a report into alleged sexual harassment in the county clerk's office, resulting in the matter being decided by a court.

The Deseret Morning News is seeking release of the report, which so far has been kept under tight control by the district attorney's office to the point that council members themselves have been denied access.

The newspaper has agreed in principle to allow the council to avoid the issue with a "friendly denial," in the words of Council Chairman Steve Harmsen, allowing an appeal to 3rd District Court.

"It's obvious that it's become a political football at the county level," Morning News managing editor Rick Hall said. "We certainly think the law is on our side, and public interest is on our side."

Other practical factors also entered into the decision, Hall said: "The district attorney's office seems bent on stretching this out and making it as expensive as possible, and that's certainly a consideration."

Several women, both named and unnamed in the Morning News and other media, have complained that former chief deputy clerk Nick Floros intimidated or harassed them. They add that his superiors knew of the actions and did nothing.

Floros' behavior allegedly continued for several years in both the clerk's and surveyor's offices.

"The whole thing goes to the competency of the district attorney's office (which oversaw the investigation) and how county government in general is being run," Hall said. "The public needs to know, to have light shed on" the matter.

The district attorney's office has vowed to appeal any adverse decision at the County Council level, and to appeal any vote by council members to obtain the report in order to make an informed decision.

"It didn't make a lot of sense to press forward with the council when it would get tied up for months in litigation over whether the council could get access to the report," Morning News attorney Jeff Hunt said.

Deputy district attorney Valerie Wilde, who is handling the matter for the DA's office, said the district attorney's office is amenable to the agreement and that "it looks like it's a go."

Part of the argument against releasing the report has been to protect the privacy of those involved, Wilde said in hearings. However, Marcia Rice, who made the allegations, has since filed a lawsuit and thus given up any claim to confidentiality. Floros' name has long been made public, and at least one witness interviewed for the report favors its release.

"I don't want my name out there all alone, but it wouldn't stick out in a group," said a woman who worked under Floros. "It wouldn't matter. There were a whole bunch of people interviewed for the report, and I think it needs to come out. . . . I think the majority of us would say we don't care if our names are out there."

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E-mail: aedwards@desnews.com