DAVENPORT, Iowa — News 8 has obtained the demand letter written by former City of Davenport City Administrator Corri Spiegel that ultimately led to a $1.6 million settlement agreement between Spiegel and the City.
The letter was obtained from Attorney Mike Meloy. Meloy represents Dr. Allen Diercks, who is suing the City.
In the letter addressed to Mayor Mike Matson and the members of the Davenport City Council, Spiegel lays out accusations of workplace harassment and demands $2.5 million for damages to physical health, emotional well-being and professional reputation.
Spiegel, who served as City Administrator for eight years, starts the letter by stating that her eight years were "continuously riddled with violations of my contract rights, employee rights, reputational rights, and constitutionally protected rights." In the letter dated Sept. 15, 2023, she states that she decided sometime at the end of 2022 that she was no longer willing to tolerate the alleged workplace hostilities.
In the demand letter, Spiegel accuses the following individuals of harassment:
- Former Davenport Mayor Bill Gluba
- Former Davenport Mayor Frank Klipsch
- Former Davenport City Councilwoman Judith Lee
- Former Davenport City Councilman Derek Cornette
- Davenport City Councilman Tim Kelly
News 8 has heard back from former Alderwoman Judith Lee regarding the allegations in the demand letter. Here is her full statement:
I make this statement set [sic] the record straight regarding the allegations contained in the Spiegel demand letter dated 15 September 2023 and provided to Mayor Mike Matson and Members of Davenport City Council c/o Tom Warner Corporation Counsel.
1. I never received this letter regarding Ms. Spiegel’s demands until it was made public today on May 13, 2024.
2. I reviewed my personnel file in July 2023 and again in April 2024, and it contained several unrelated standard administrative documents.
3. Spiegel’s letter contains vague mostly undated allegations of harassment, with no documentation or investigations as required by the City of Davenport Administrative Policy No. 3.11, effective July 1, 2018, and signed by Mallory Merritt, then Human Resources Director and approved by Corrin Spiegel, City Administrator. Ms. Spiegel has violated her own administrative policies. These allegations against me by Ms. Spiegel are either untrue, have no basis in evidence, or are highly inflated descriptions of minor incidents.
4. My private attorney sent a letter to Tom Warner dated September 8, 2023 requesting detailed information regarding Warner’s allegations and the basis for the “communication protocol” on September 8, 2023. His letter was ignored by Mr. Warner, as documented in my attorney’s letter dated October 16, 2023. Mr. Warner would have received Ms. Spiegel’s demand letter a week after he received my attorney’s request and long before we documented the lack of response on October 16, 2023. He could have readily provided Spiegel’s information, but I believe that this action supports fraudulent use of taxpayer money and tampering with an election.
5. My public affidavit provided to the Diercks v. City of Davenport, Davenport City Council, and Tom Warner litigation states that I was not included in any document reviews or discussions, meetings related to her demand letter (except the October 4, 2023 executive session in which Spiegel's demand was discussed), and private or public votes relating to the October 6, 2023 agreement signed by Tom Warner, related to the Spiegel demand letter or the actual agreement. I was not provided nor did I have the opportunity to review the demand letter until today, May 13, 2024. I was also not involved in the demand letters and agreements made by Tom Warner regarding Samantha Torres and Tiffany Thorndike. I did not have the opportunity to review any of the agreements the press release until they were made public. Contrary to Mr. Warner’s statement on the October 6, 2023 agreement and the City’s statement in the related press release, City Council was NOT unanimous in supporting the agreement.
6. I find it interesting that Corrin Spiegel’s demand letter was not provided by one or more attorneys on official firm letterhead, yet Tom Warner decided her personal letter, apparently written at one sitting in September 2023, was enough to commit the city of Davenport to extravagant benefits and monetary payouts.
7. I know that Spiegel's allegations against me are vague and untimely, have little to no basis in fact, and provide no evidence as the basis for the excessive benefits and monetary payouts from taxpayer funds to Ms. Spiegel as agreed by Mr. Warner.
8. I also believe that Spiegel’s letter should have been immediately provided to City Council by Mr. Warner and Mayor Matson for public discussion regarding response strategy and a public vote regarding any agreements, and certainly before Mr. Warner wrote and signed an agreement providing such extravagant benefits prior to the November election.
News 8 is still waiting to hear back from others listed in the demand letter.
This is a developing story. News 8 has reached out to parties named in the letter and is awaiting comment.
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