Blanco orders investigation of top aide, SU board chief

Gov. Kathleen Blanco said Wednesday that she will not remove one of her top aides from his job or ask him to abandon his post as head of Southern University’s governing board while he is being investigated for sexual harassment complaints.
The Governor’s Office hired an independent attorney, Mark Falcon, to look into the complaints from unidentified Southern University System employees against Johnny Anderson. But Blanco said her office has received “a verbal accusation with no evidence that I’m aware of” and she wouldn’t make changes in Anderson’s role until further investigation.
“This is very treacherous, to destroy an individual’s reputation,” she said in a telephone conference call with reporters on a different subject. “We want to make sure that this is a fair investigation.”
She added, “The status quo will remain until we get some hard evidence.”
Falcon said Southern so far is not cooperating with the investigation.
Anderson said Tuesday he is innocent and called the allegations “politically motivated trash.”
He said he will not step down either as chairman of the Southern University System Board of Supervisors or as Blanco’s assistant chief of staff.
State Sen. Cleo Fields, whose district includes the university, called on Blanco to demand Anderson step aside from both posts during the investigation for fear Anderson could exert his influence on the situation.
Fields, D-Baton Rouge, also said he would file a resolution during the special legislative session beginning Dec. 8 asking lawmakers to forbid members of a governor’s staff from serving on government boards.
“The people at Southern have had a very hard time distinguishing whether he is speaking as chairman or whether he is speaking for the governor,” Fields said.
Officials declined to discuss or release documents showing the number or identity of the employees complaining about harassment, or any details of their complaints.
The board elected Anderson on Friday to an unprecedented third year as chairman.
Anderson said he was shocked Fields is involving himself in the situation and said his position close to Blanco poses no conflict of interest.
Blanco’s office issued an e-mail response about the investigation.
“The governor has zero tolerance for any form of harassment or discrimination,” said Kimberly Robinson, Blanco’s special counsel. “Our policy is to immediately investigate and address any such complaints, including the initiation of corrective action, as warranted.”
The Governor’s Office has not received specifics of the allegations, Robinson said. Kim Hunter Reed, Blanco’s deputy chief of staff, said the Governor’s Office and Falcon have been blocked at every turn from getting information from Southern.
Reed said Anderson will not have to step down because the investigation is being conducted independently.
The sexual harassment issue arose after Southern University System President Ralph Slaughter sent a letter about the complaints to state Sen. Charles Jones, D-Monroe, chairman of the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee.
In the letter dated Oct. 26, Slaughter said he could not investigate the matter himself since Anderson is his supervisor, nor did he feel he could adequately protect the employees, whom he said fear future harassment.
“I do not believe I could report these allegations to the executive branch because Mr. Anderson is both the chairman of the Southern Board of Supervisors and the assistant chief of staff to Gov. Blanco,” Slaughter said. “I am therefore asking your committee to conduct a confidential investigation of these allegations and provide the employees with the protection they seek as well as the confidentiality of this letter and help us maintain the integrity of the Southern University System.”
Jones did not return telephone messages and Slaughter declined comment.
Anderson said he was disappointed that Slaughter contacted the senator instead of following protocol by investigating the allegations internally. Falcon agreed with that course of action, noting Jones’ Senate committee which reviews election and ethics laws has no jurisdiction.
Southern University Supervisor John Joseph of Opelousas nominated Anderson for his third term as chairman on Friday. He said Anderson is a great leader with strong personal character.
“Fabrication may be the order of the day,” Joseph said of the allegations, adding that they could be politically motivated.
Anderson said he first heard rumors about sexual complaints a couple weeks ago and approached board Vice Chairman Myron Lawson of Baton Rouge and personnel committee Chairwoman Dale Atkins of New Orleans to look into the matter with system attorney Winston DeCuir Sr.
Last week, Anderson said, he was told Slaughter reviewed the matter and found no evidence of wrongdoing.