San Leandro City Manager Chris Zapata is returning to the job after a months-long investigation cleared him of allegations that he sexually harassed a nonprofit executive who did work with the city.
Zapata was placed on leave in January after the woman accused him of trying to pressure her into a sexual relationship in exchange for continued city funding. An independent probe was carried out by Kramer Workplace Investigations and concluded there was no merit to the charges against him.
“City Manager Zapata denied all wrongdoing and the investigation concluded that his testimony was credible,” said Mayor Pauline Russo Cutter in a statement. “We are eager to move forward and strongly advise everyone involved to continue to work together for the betterment of San Leandro.”
One person not easily moving forward is Zapata’s accuser Rose Padilla Johnson. She stands by her claims of harassment and said the council “must ensure that no woman doing business with the city is ever forced to accept offensive behavior from the highest-ranking employee of the city.”
The investigation into Johnson’s allegations lasted five months. It included interviews with nine individuals and the review of hundreds of pages of documents, including digital communications.