A dispute over alleged racial discrimination by the Mayor of Lake Hamilton, Florida will be heading to mutually-agreed mediation in an attempt to resolve the issue outside the courtroom.

The charges were brought by the town’s Public Works Director J.D. Johnson, who is black, specifically against Mayor Marlene Wagner, who is white.  Johnson accused Mayor Wagner of afflicting him with “constant harassment, write-ups (and) demotion" which he felt was racially motivated.

Mayor Wagner contends that Johnson’s job performance was the issue.  She attempted to demote him in April 2014, citing “unsatisfactory performance and disregard for standard operation procedures.”  She backed up this accusation with a public memo listing ten incidents that she felt should result in Johnson’s termination or at least demotion, including damaging town property and failing to perform his job duties on several occasions.

Mayor Wagner suspended Johnson in May 2013, but the town council re-instated him.  Johnson in turn does not specifically deny the infractions he’s accused of, but states that co-workers who are white are not cited despite engaging in the same behaviors.  Johnson submitted a formal complaint against Public Works employee Harvey Sims, a white man, detailing four infractions.  Johnson says that Sims’ has been cited for “personal conduct” instead of unsatisfactory work performance specifically so he will not be in danger of losing his job.