Tuesday, November 30, 2010 – 10:00 a.m.
San Bernardino County executives have come down hard on one of their own employees who also operates a local political blog.
A blog popular with readers, but not county leaders.
Sharon Gilbert, an almost thirty-year county employee, has taken on county government with great success through her website www.iePolitics.com. A widely-read blog in Southern California’s Inland Empire, which consists primarily of San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
Ms. Gilbert has a network of sources that aid her in routing out issues with local governments and exposing problems. A resource that has contributed to the blogs success.
However, Gilbert has paid a steep price for her crusading.
More than a year ago, at the direction of ousted county administrative officer Mark Uffer, county human resources officers overrode a physicians off-work order and pulled the plug on Gilbert’s disability benefits coverage.
An off-work order, which had the concurrence of a county-approved physician.
Last year the county directed the Hartford Insurance Company to deny Gilbert disability payments, while at the same time the county terminated her workers compensation treatment access.
Even though Gilbert has accepted the gracious offer of San Diego County-based attorney Ed Faunce to fight for her benefits, the county continues to play hardball.
Recently, the county board of supervisors, at the request of staff, approved a contract with the law firm of Meyers Nave Ribacksilver & Wilson to deal with Gilbert.
The cost? Tens of thousands of dollars.
In Gilbert’s latest workers compensation hearing, an attorney for the county told Gilbert and her attorney that the county would not give Gilbert anything unless her blog was shut down.
A stunt that routinely occurs in the private sector, but a local government hurting an employee over free speech is another story.
So far the county has denied more than $19,000 in disability payments to Gilbert, who has been surviving on a hardship withdrawal from her retirement savings.
But now with that resource exhausted Gilbert once again lives with no heat, no medical access, and a broken down vehicle.
Her latest request to be assisted with transportation to medical appointments through a county program was also denied.
First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt’s staff attempted to intervene on Gilbert’s behalf but stopped when, as chief of staff David Zook reportedly put it,”we were making too many enemies in the county administrative office.”
Yes, a county supervisor!
It’s time for newly-appointed Chief Executive Officer Greg Devereaux to put an end to this mean-spirited treatment.
Merry Christmas from San Bernardino County.
A county that should change its seal from an arrowhead to an eight ball.
How is it that she is too disabled to work, but not too disabled to run a active blog/ website from Starbucks? And if she has the time and ability to run that blog/website as she say’s in her blog from Starbucks why should the taxpayers pay anything to her? Let her make her own living and quit whining about not having any money.
Boy! This whole County retalliation issue is getting very old!!!!!!! How many times can they get away with this before the Attorney General steps in and takes unauthorized power back from the people like the CEO/CAO. When the stupervisors gave him that power it was completely illeagal. The local government aka B.O.S. can not pass laws or ordinances that do not comply with California laws…. They also can not hire a cao as equal opportunity employer without conducting appropriate interviews. Did they get permission from the Attorney General to hire this said Attorneys office to represent them as stipulated in C.A. codes 11040-11045? I didn’t see the required bidding for the job on the agendas for the B.O.S. as also required from the rules of fair contracting. This is completely illegal and against the people/ and against Sharon’s constitutional and civil rights…. They need to be held acountable for their contintious law breaking and retalliations against us. I am having retalliation against me and my kids with my case too…… Federal case number CV 10-07752. Guess what it’s the same people including David Zook, ceo/cao, the Board of Supervisors and the County. If you need help Sharon my e-mail is on here contact me.
@Hugo: You are a bully and a moron! One doesn’t have to be completely immobile to be on disability, idiot!
Obviously you’ve been exempt from the county’s own special brand of punishment/retaliation.
Sharon Gilbert is a pychopathetic welfare-recipient loser who is getting her just desserts!
@Wiseman: You blogging from work? Not a smart thing to do.
Well, when you fall upon hard times I hope you recall your bitter words.
You sound like a real sweetheart.
Anonymous1- Your right I am exempt. I don’t work for the county I don’t expect anyone to give me anything for nothing. I don’t have the sense of entitlement you have. All I’m saying is if she is not completely disabled why should she get complete disability?
I have long suspected that the Supervisors spend half their time reading what people are saying about them on blogs and the other half driving around aimlessly, day dreaming of new ways to buy votes with tax payer money.
They may have inadvertlently mis-stepped here in trying to shut down free speech. This may end up back firing on the county big time and only cause even more attention to the blogs that they do not like.
If people are saying things you do not like on blogs-just ignore it. That is what grown ups in politics have to do.
They would get more traction here by simply being extra nice to those who criticise them. It is a basic biblical principal that works every time it has been applied. After all, they all claim to be Christians, so doing the right thing should be second nature for them.
Hugo and Wiseman I’d love to meet you in a public restroom and piss on your shoes to see what you would do about it!!! I bet nothing. But if you were man enough, that would be ok too!! I love to deal with pathetic pieces of crap like you two!! Better than arresting a crook in my book.
You and a few others should step up and take a hit for the team…
I bet your both County managers who’s balls are the size of BB’s in reality.
@Hugo: For an exempt employee you assume a lot, and you know what that means! It makes an ASS out of you!
FYI, disability compensation doesn’t make one rich. It just helps a person to survive and get medical treatment. I’ll hazard a guess that you are not a doctor nor are you qualified to make a decision on such matters. And, it’s not your money Bozo.
I’d like to meet with you and discuss it like two grown men should instead of this silly banter back and forth on a blog. How about it? Give me the time and place, and I’ll be there.
@ACU: Yeah, being an exempt employee has taken on a whole new meaning with old Hugo. To him it means being exempt from any hassle or retaliation while in the county’s employ! On the other hand, the poor, regular unkempt/unwashed non-exempt county employees are subjected to abuse at the drop of a hat!
I think you are being generous ACU asserting that “Yugo” and “Wisenheimmer” have any manhood whatsoever! That’s probably why they are both so pissed off in their posts!
I would say that those who follow Sharon’s blog have greater power than the government of San Bernardino Coounty. Let them investigate, private firm or no, and let them find out who they come against.
So right Steve!
As expressed earlier in the blog, the county leadership needs to grow up already. As leaders, the grown-up thing to do is to ignore the criticism instead of trying to destroy everyone who differs with them and puts it in a blog.
Next, try doing the right thing for a change so that there is less and less fodder for the blogs. Duh! Talk about a real money-saver!
Earth to county leadership and human resources hacks: Sharon Gilbert is entitled to disability benefits since she paid into it for nearly 3 decades!
How absurd that the county has hired all these attorneys to go after one lone female! The county is run by a bunch of pathetic losers who would likely throw their own mothers under the bus if they thought it could get them ahead!
Every other county employee gets 12 mos of disability. Sharon is expecting them to put her in a position that is not her job. She is an employment services specialist. If she cnnot do the job, buh bye. Why should she get more disability because she “cannot” work there? Why should any county employee get to do any job that is not their own? If sharon wants to be a clerk, let her, so long as she is being paid clerks wages. Maybe the county would not let her come back to work after she promised to kill herself at work if they made her go to a site she did not want to be at? She ran her mouth, never shut up, kept picking, and now I am supposed to feel sorry for her? I am a county employee who works hard, keeps my mouth shut and they leave me alone. She is an attention whore. Well, now you have all the attention Sharon !
@curious: Well, you certainly didn’t keep your mouth shut here! Oh, that’s because you are sticking up for the county, so it should okay then!
So, you know everything about Ms. Gilbert’s case and are therefore an expert now, right? Very interesting; just how did you happen upon all of her confidential information, hmm?
Congratulations! You are a hard worker! Go ahead and pat yourself on the back! Psst, so are thousands of others who work at the county! You aren’t special, cuddles.
Nobody here ever said that you should feel sorry for Gilbert nor anyone else for that matter! It’s apparent that you only care about yourself. Perhaps you should feel sorry for yourself as well.
confidential? that is funny. she puts every detail of her life on blast
@curious: You really are naive. Even people who are virtual ‘open books’ don’t reveal certain things to everyone.
So curious kept their mouth shut to what?
“Corruption, retaliation, back door dealings, double standards,no standards”? Kept your mouth shut when they disciplined you or kept your mouth shut when your co-workers were getting harrassed by some power hungry inept manager?
Kept your mouth shut when some citizen got screwed by the County?
Curious DID you not read the reason Sharon was NOT getting her benefits?
The County told her Attorney it was BECAUSE of the blog. DOES that strike a cord with you?
Generally people who keep their mouth shut DON’T know much either. MEANING the rules and laws we talk about here for starters.
I am wondering myself why Sharon’s Attorney is not seeking relief from the courts for such outrageous comments and conduct from the County.
Curious do you ignore the arrogance of those above you too!! I bet you’d keep your mouth shut if your husband or kids were the victim of something like this too!!!
But you NOW wish to be heard on an issue like this. Print this out and show your boss your a TEAM PLAYER for the crooks.
Go back to your flock of sheep!!!!!!
Every other county employee gets 12 mos of disability. bottom line, she is past that.
Just curious, is your livelihood funded by the taxpayers and your position “represented” by the flock of SBPEA chickens? If so, you are one public employee that I will relish in seeing kicked out of “public service” with the upcoming budget “reorganization”. aren’t you smart enough to know that you have already sold your soul to the Devil?
The bottom line is they should not be blocking freedom of speech and anyones constitutional rights. The great thing about our Country is that we are allowed with our rights to say what we think. Everyone is allowed that right. Even when we don’t agree with anothers point of view. Job performance has nothing to do with personal rights….