Wilcox’s Mr. X unveiled

August 5, 2009

By KAREN VELIE

The much-anticipated County investigative report reveals Gail Wilcox was terminated due to an affair with the married Executive Director of the Deputy Deputy’s association Tony Perry.

The brief relationship coincided with the early 2009 negotiations between the County and the association. Perry negotiated for the association while Wilcox acted as chief labor negotiator for the county.

In mid-April, county workers informed Edge that Wilcox had been “putting on the beauty” while dancing with Sheriff Hedges. Edge assumed Wilcox got dressed up because (redacted name) would be there, and worried that Wilcox was acting overly promiscuous, the report says.

“He mulled over who Wilcox could be having a relationship with that she couldn’t tell Jim about. He wondered if she was having a sexual relationship with a County employee that directly affected her work somehow.”

According to the report, Edge began asking Wilcox if she was dating a County employee. In turn, Wilcox asked County Supervisor Katcho Achadjian to check out Edge and “make sure everything was okay.” Achadjian then informed Wilcox that “Edge was fine.”

The report mentions numerous names of County employees who could be Wilcox’s mystery man, including Jeff Hamm and Paavo Ogren. Three additional names of potential ex’s have been redacted.

The investigation unveiled that Edge and Wilcox routinely discussed intimate matters in the workplace. It also reports that Edge’s sexual discussions were not unwelcome.

“From the point of view of an outsider, the frequency, duration, and explicit detail of the explicit detail of this aspect of the ongoing dialog between Edge and Wilcox is appalling,” according to investigator Sarah Robertson’s conclusion.

In addition, Robertson concluded that it was offensive to others that heard the dialog.

Keep checking in to CalCoastNews for additional information as we pore over the documents.


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Member Opinions:

By: soca on 7/31/09

As this story continues to unfold I believe we will find that the Adonis Ms. Wilcox refers to is another cop, one who has high aspirations and may have just dodged a bullet by what appears to be lucky timing.


By: BeenThereDoneThat on 7/30/09

Roger.


Maybe Marty is mad that his name got crossed out so many times? ;-)


By: rogerfreberg on 7/30/09


Marty….


You sound a little ‘edgy’ to me? You sound like this is a story that you never wanted to see come out… is this a personal issue for you?


It’s a good thing that the folks on this site have been investigating stuff… because you won’t see it in the TRASH-bune.


However, I am not at all worried about folks like Gail finding employment… Cal Poly hires fired locals all the time… Warren Baker always seems to need another Vice President or Provost… wouldn’t surprise me to find her over there eventually.


Anyway, good going guys… now get back and see who’s behind all of this covering up.


By: RoscoeRules on 7/29/09

Marty, you hit it right on the nose. Enough said.


By: Use_it_or_Lose_it on 7/29/09


Yes, Dash….and we don’t need Hooterville running for Sheriff, now do we?


By: marty on 7/29/09

I read Karen’s account of the report and then the report and I was wondering if she and I read the same document. I know that most of her information comes from Dale Strobridge and he cannot be reached for comment right now, so I guess Karen has to “wing” it on her own. I laughed at her performance on the radio; she misquoted people and credited people with writing e-mails that they never wrote. If Martin Basti wanted to file a defamation suit I think he could, since he did not write the e-mails Karen attributed to him.


By: rack-n-blurb on 7/29/09

Heard Karen on the radio earlier. She sounds like she is responsible for bringing the house of Edge down. You could hear the glee in her voice. I think Edge and Wilcox and Perry were headed for disaster with or without Karen’s involvement.


The County should fire everyone, including the BOS and start over.


By: DashRiprock on 7/29/09

I just discussed the happenings with my good friend and attorney who you could consider probably one of the the top dogs in King County, which includes Seattle, WA, about our happenings here….once he stopped laughing he said go back to the previous Board of county supervisors and do an analysis, and you’ll find you had a board of supervisors more apt for a good old boy county like hooterville and a population of 2,000 or less, not a county of 300,000 residents. The more I look back, the more it makes sense…and there are one or two still their…


By: HoHum on 7/29/09

After spending the better part of my afternoon reading this report and the accompanying exhibits, the one question that kept arising in my mind was why didn’t any of Ms. Wilcox’s confidants report her boastful and flagrant admission of an affair with the chief negotiator for the opposition at the bargaining table? Although the former County HR Directors name has been redacted throughout the document, it is apparent that Ms. Hossli was fully aware of Ms. Wilcox’s unethical behavior, during the time Ms. Hossli was an employee of the County. The same can be said of the current Deputy HR Director, Dori Duke. Ms. Duke contends it wasn’t her responsibility to report this blatant conflict of interest. Instead, she and the other County employees conspired how best to assist Ms. Wilcox in the continuance of her illicit and unscrupulous affair. Although Mr. Edge, Ms. Wilcox and Mr. Perry are the main focus of this grossly embarrassing document, those in charge should look very closely at ALL parties involved in the cover up, many of whom hold positions of responsibility in the higher echelons of County Govt. On the other hand, I must say I applaud HR Director Tami Douglas-Schatz for doing the job she was hired to do.


By: BeenThereDoneThat on 7/29/09

Cindy.


I love your comments. I felt the same way reading this, that are we talking about adults or a bunch a teenagers.


Your last line about her on her back… CLASSIC. What a cheap ho she sounds like. I thing she would have got with anyone or thing, with a pulse.


Edge should have been fired for just being an idiot. To have let this go and the unprofessionalism that he knew, boggles the mind that this dipsh** got a six figure salary!!


By: NorthCountyGuy on 7/29/09

Didn’t SLO County have a similar sexual scenario about 20 years ago when a male Auditor-Controller was fired for sexual harassment of several women? I believe that Barry LaBarbara also tried to suppress and cover it up. Is SLO County a slow learner?


By: starvingmexican on 7/29/09

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm………..Reminded me of the back seat of a car during High School.I’ll bet she was a popular date.


This Edge must be a real perve too.


By: starvingmexican on 7/29/09

“As Gail Turns her Tail” and a dose of “sympathy sex.” Damn.this is GOOD stuff.


By: starvingmexican on 7/29/09

This is so far out.Hell, I think i’ll drop my porno membership and subscribe to the SLO County Sex Scene.This is HOT STUFF.


By: rogerfreberg on 7/29/09


I would say that the report was ‘okay’ as far as it went. The good news it probably set a circulation record for the Tribune in both the on-line and hard copy editions.


However, Judge L. or was it the Tribune that redacted so much? In addition, it might have been insightful to know WHO her Sacramento liaison was? ( I like to fantasize it was some elected official)


It wasn’t really clear to me how Edge and Wilcox worked together? He set up some meetings for her… would we this ‘pimping?’ Was this the reason he made her second in command?


Also I wonder if this was the REAL reason they were fired… OR just a smoke screen?


As for Dave Wilcox, aka the ‘cuckold’… let’s just say ‘he married her!’ The Tribune of the Fairbanks era is best forgotten.


SoOooo… CONGRATULATIONS to CalCoastNews.Com in putting the pressure on to get this ‘business’ exposed! I found it a great compliment that you guys were mentioned at least twice in the report!


Where would our county be with out you?


By: Saveslocounty on 7/29/09

I read that Perry is married with four small children and Wilcox has one small child. Look at all of the lives those two have harmed by playing grab-as_ in the back seat of a car. I am sorry, but Perry, as a supervising county employee, must be fired as well. While performing his duties as a negotiator, he was also being paid as if he was on-duty. That is a fact that can be supported. I guess he is good at what he does in that he negotiated the pants right off of the opposition. You must be so proud of yourself Mr. Perry. Unfortunately, not even your mother could be proud of you at this point. More drama here in old SLO than on the Bachelorette. Time to clean it up.


By: bluemule on 7/29/09

Good lord, what a pathetic, unprofessional mess this is. The hardest part to accept is that my tax dollars have been paying these cretins through all of their juvenile escapades, and paying them well; far more than they’re worth. Kudos to the BOS for canning them both, and doing it quickly.


BTW, is “slut” a banned word here on CCN?


By: Cindy on 7/29/09

Insider – Your not alone. Surprisingly I actually agree with you 100%. I was taken back reading about all these out of town sexual adventures, and transgressions upon the tax payer coffers under the guise of public business . I can’t get over how pubescent these officials actually are. I wouldn’t call this behavior salacious in the least. This is teenage sex in the “back seat”. The idea of Edge asking Wilcox to be sure she used protection floored me. They truly sound like a bunch of kids who so happen to have kids.

You said “I love her best defence to her own comments that she was simply to drunk to remember what she said.” I missed that in the report. Thats a good one. I’m sure we all know a few of those types but its not expected to come from a person in Wilcox position. On the other hand I guess it suits her preferred position (on her back).


By: insider on 7/29/09

Isn’t anyone but me concerned about all these out of town professional meetings our county staff attends. Professional yes but what profession? I would say stop all out of town conferences and meetings and keep these people at home but the in-breeding would just be out of control. I love her best defence to her own comments that she was simply to drunk to remember what she said. Fire em all. Let private business assume all government roles and charge a fee for service. This system is broken.


By: mccdave on 7/29/09

Problem is, without its Queen Bee and Chief Drone, the County hive is liable to die. At the next County Board public comment period, I’m going to recommend that they bring in some concubines skilled in the arts of toughness and argumentation (but with their stingers removed). But it’s a shame to think that Wilcox could get even more hard-edged (NPI) than she already is.


Congoleum: “Shame on The Powers That Be for allowing the derogatory comments about the ex-husband, David Wilcox to be part of the final report.”


Thanks for calling our attention to this. Do you have quotes or page numbers? Unfortunately, the fax PDF isn’t searchable.


Belgian Congo: “Dave Wilcox was THE top political reporter on the Central Coast in the early 90s when he wrote for the old T-T.”


Yeah, he just happened to be married to a County apparatchik. Wasn’t Bob Woodward married to Rosemary Woods? Congealer is THE top microphone warmer in all of KVEC’s evening line-up.


Article: “Keep checking in to CalCoastNews for additional information as we pour over the documents.”


Pour what over the documents? Refugees can “pour over” a border. Muckrakers “pore over” documents.


By: Black_Copter_Pilot on 7/29/09

Gail and Tony:


Hope you are looking at this


The good news is that Diamond Adult World is hiring…please look into it.


By: R.Hodin on 7/29/09

Wouldn’t it be up to the named persons in the report to request redaction of the material concerning them?


I would have to assume that Dave Wilcox either was not represented, or was unsuccessful in petitioning the court or, chose not to respond.


By: congaltonkvec920 on 7/29/09

Shame on The Powers That Be for allowing the derogatory comments about the ex-husband, David Wilcox to be part of the final report. All these other people had their sections redacted — why not Dave?


Dave Wilcox was THE top political reporter on the Central Coast in the early 90s when he wrote for the old T-T. His close friend and mentor Ann Fairbanks was killed in a car accident in 1995 and I don’t think Dave ever recovered from her death. But he was devoted to his job, devoted to his kids, and devoted to his wife.


I am appalled that the attorneys and the judge did not see fit to protect Dave Wilcox’s good name.


By: R.Hodin on 7/28/09

Congratulations, Karen & Dan, for being referenced in the report by none other than Sir David Edge. No higher praise.


By: rogerfreberg on 7/28/09


Well, the interesting question is whether or not the Deputy Sheriffs think they were adequately represented in the negotiations?


Aside from Gail Wilcox’s negotiation talents, it would seem logical for Tony Perry to step down… that is a decision for the Deputy Sheriffs to decide.


Over the years, I have heard many concerns about Wilcox and Edge …. far too many to say this is something that happened only yesterday. I hope that our Board works to make working for the county a privileged and that promotion be based on merit.


Leadership must start at the top… and this was a good first step.


By: CitizenB on 7/28/09

Talk about Labor being in bed with Management!


By: adamwest on 7/28/09

uncoveredSLO is mentioned in the report on report page 29 pdf page 32


By: OsborneCox on 7/28/09

The Trib has the entire 246-page report downloadable in .pdf form at its web site. Very interesting reading…


By: DashRiprock on 7/28/09

Is (was) Perry married? If so, what a heel.


By: Truthbeknown on 7/28/09

This is very troubling, as Wilcox and Perry did labor negotiations against each other (not to mention other things)!