Paso Robles city manager files $2 million claim, alleging harassment from councilman

Paso Robles’ city manager filed a $2 million claim against the city, alleging a councilmember has created such a hostile work environment that he had to take medical leave due to stress.

City Manager Ty Lewis has been on leave since early August, which he told The Tribune stemmed from harassment he has experienced from Councilmember Chris Bausch over the last year.

Specifically, according to the $2.275 million claim, Bausch is alleged to have spread professional and personal rumors about Lewis to Cal Coast News reporter Karen Velie, threatened Lewis on multiple occasions, shared false stories that Lewis participated in sex parties, and harassed Lewis based on the administrator’s religious and political beliefs.

According to the claim, Lewis had been experiencing sleep distress, stomach and gastrointestinal issues, and severe anxiety leading up to a May 7 City Council meeting, where he suffered a fainting spell.

According to the claim, his initial evaluation after the fainting showed Lewis experienced a sudden drop in blood pressure and heart rate that caused him to pass out.

Since the episode, Lewis has been diagnosed extreme hypertension that has made him unable to work. According to his primary care provider, the claim said, the fainting and the medical issues since then are at least in part, if not fully, a result of the stressors in the workplace.

When the The Tribune reached out to Bausch, he said he could not comment on the allegations.

When asked for comment, Velie pointed The Tribune to a recent Cal Coast News article about Lewis’ claim against the city.

“This is by far the hardest decision I’ve made, because I know that the people that are running the city now are left in an exceedingly vulnerable position if this continues,” Lewis told The Tribune. “From my perspective, it’s always been about doing the right thing for the right reasons and serving the community, and that’s been my driving force through all of this. And seeing all the great things that this community has accomplished be put at risk by one person’s bad actions really makes me sad.”

The city denied Lewis’ claim on Sept. 26, opening the door for a possible lawsuit. Lewis now has six months from that date to file a suit regarding the allegations in the claim.

City Council candidate posted she hoped city manager died, claim alleges

During the May 7 meeting, Lewis said he felt intimidated and belittled by Bausch, according to the claim. Bausch allegedly “glared angrily” and continuously and made remarks to Lewis and other councilmembers about something “finally coming to the light.” It was unclear from the claim what Bausch meant by this alleged comment.

According to the minutes from that meeting, discussion items included a National Foster Care Month Proclamation, a presentation from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association about the proposed Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act and a presentation regarding the need for a modification to Airport Road and Highway 46. The taxpayer act was an initiative promoted by the California Business Roundtable that aimed to limit the ability of voters and state and local governments to raise government services revenue.

“This habit of glaring at me and intimidating me has been noted and commented on by other councilmembers,” Lewis said in the claim, adding that every councilmember has commented on how Bausch “has it out” for Lewis.

The Tribune emailed each Paso Robles city councilmember about Lewis’ allegations. Mayor John Hamon said he could not comment on the allegations. He could only confirm the city received the claim and denied it, and that Chris Huot was filling in while Lewis was out on “protected leave.” Councilmembers Fred Strong and Sharon Roden declined to comment and Councilmember Steve Gregory did not respond.

According to the claim, rumors and comments spread by Bausch have resulted in Lewis receiving email threats of “great bodily harm.” In one, the claim said, a community member threatened to “tar and feather” him.

City Council candidate Linda George, one of Bausch’s supporters, allegedly posted on social media that she wished Lewis had died during the May 7 meeting, the claim said. Lewis also believes George organized multiple fake social media accounts and falsely accused him of illegal activities.

The claim also alleged George and Bausch have discriminated against Lewis for being raised a Jehovah’s Witness.

Bausch told Lewis it was disrespectful to “fake” the Pledge of Allegiance and not bow his head for invocations, the claim said. Lewis told Bausch he doesn’t bow his head because he’s afraid of what audience members might do and was reluctant to pray during invocations because of the religion he was raised in.

The claim alleged Bausch made “coordinated comments” with George, which resulted in George allegedly creating the Instagram account with the handle @805WatchPasoRobles and name WatchtowerWatchPR that has several posts and links critical of Lewis, including a link to a petition to remove Lewis from office. The use of the term “Watchtower” appears to be a dig at Lewis’ religious background, as “The Watchtower” is the name of a Jehovah’s Witness publication , the claim said.

There is also an 805 Watchtower account that comments on New Times stories. Its most recent comment accuses Lewis of allowing no-knock warrants and beating a citizen while he was police chief, both of which Lewis told The Tribune is false.

George told The Tribune that she does not run any of the 805Watchtower accounts and said the post wishing that Lewis had died during the meeting came from that account — not her. She said she posted on her personal account @pinkydmdz that she wished Lewis was gone, as in out of a job.

The caption on that post on pinkydmdz has been edited since it was made on May 8. Lewis told The Tribune the caption mentioned his ambulance ride from the May 7 meeting with the sentence “Can’t wait until you’re gone.” George maintained she only wished he was out of the job. There is no way to view caption edit history on Instagram.

When asked who runs the 805WatchPasoRobles Instagram account, George told The Tribune, “Whoever is running that page, I plead the fifth. I think some of those posts were removed by the advice of her attorney.”

Lewis also accused Bausch of helping Michael Rivera, another Paso Robles City Council candidate, to manufacture a “false criminal complaint” against Lewis, the claim said.

Rivera accused Lewis of slapping him “aggressively on the shoulder” and making intimidating comments during a Homelessness Strategic Plan working meeting on Nov. 6, 2023. The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office investigated the allegation, but ultimately no charges were filed against Lewis in relation to the incident, records show.

Claim alleges city councilmember threatened, berated and spread rumors about city manager

The claim lists several specific instances where Lewis said he felt harassed, belittled or defamed by Bausch in the past year.

Lewis alleges Bausch is “using the media to manufacture and repeat false rumors about me and councilpersons to create political pressure to sway votes,” causing Lewis “great mental anguish and distress.”

On March 8, the claim said, Mayor John Hamon, Lewis and Bausch held a meeting to discuss Bausch’s “unprofessional treatment” toward Lewis, city staff and other councilmembers. The meeting stemmed from an email between Bausch and a community member regarding the city’s paid parking program in which Bausch “falsely accused” Lewis of acting against the public interest by attempting to preserve paid parking “as a kingdom-building effort,” the claim said.

“Mr. Bausch threatened me that he might have to take up Karen Velie’s offer to publish an op/ed piece about me, stating that my attempt to have a conversation with him was an attempt to pressure him to change his vote regarding paid parking,” the claim stated, adding that Bausch read a statement at the next City Council meeting that resulted in “Karen Velie writing and publishing a false news article” about Lewis trying to dissuade Bausch from voting against paid parking.

During a May 13 meeting about airport services, Bausch accused Lewis of fixing the applicant process to favor Lewis’ “personal friend,” the owner of Lloyd’s Aviation, which Lewis said is false, according to the claim. Rather, the claim said, Bausch pressured Lewis to not allow the City Council ad hoc recommendation to move forward. Bausch then accused Lewis of “unethical behavior for personal gain,” the claim said, a similar comment that had been made in the media.

Lewis also accused Bausch of repeatedly leaking closed session information to Velie, including a reconsideration of paid parking by the council in April. That discussion was spoken about “on-the-air” on KPRL, the claim said, but it is unclear from the claim if it was Velie or Bausch who spoke about it.

Bausch also falsely accused Lewis of receiving illegal kickbacks from Dixon Resources Unlimited on parking meters, the claim said, a statement that was reportedly repeated on KPRL by Velie. Velie disputed this claim in her article.

Prior to a discussion on renewing a half-cent sales tax measure, the claim alleged, Bausch threatened “there would be consequences” for Lewis if he did not bring forward a resolution in support of the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act. The initiative received enough signatures to appear on the November ballot, only to be removed by the California Supreme Court, which agreed that it was an illegal attempt to revise the state Constitution.

Bausch is alleged to have made a similar threat on May 14 if Lewis allowed an ad hoc decision regarding the airport to move forward.

Another rumor Lewis believes Bausch is circulating is that the Chamber of Commerce supported paid parking in downtown Paso Robles because its president and Lewis were having an affair — something Lewis said is false and “made up by Mr. Bausch for his personal purposes.”

The claim said the unfounded rumor was discussed publicly on March 27 on KPRL radio, expanding its circulation in the community.

Bausch also repeatedly demanded that Lewis force the current police chief to take illegal action against the homeless living within the Salinas Riverbed, the claim said.

The claim also said Bausch “heard a rumor” that Lewis went to sex parties but would not tell Lewis who said it. When Lewis denied the rumor, Bausch replied, “Are you sure there aren’t pictures of you at these parties?” This, again, was a false rumor, Lewis said.

The claim said Bausch harassed Lewis by questioning his supposed sexual orientation and proclivities, and added that Bausch bullied and attempted to intimidate him with the line of questioning by saying Lewis’ supposed sexual habits would negatively impact his employment if the public learned of them.

At a Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce Gala on March 23, the claim said, Bausch berated Lewis because councilmembers and the city attorney sat with Lewis instead of Bausch, who accused Lewis of “punishing” him and a local parking activist with their seats. Bausch is also accused of berating Lewis for running five minutes over in a meeting and then going to the bathroom before meeting with Bausch, the claim said.

Other alleged harassment include Bausch reportedly discussing a rumor that Lewis is a liberal and seeks to further “woke” views to the detriment of the community.

Lewis told The Tribune he hopes the claim can bring transparency to Paso Robles residents about what has been going on behind the scenes at the Paso Robles City Council.

“I’m committed to protecting the community. I spent over two decades working for the city of Paso Robles. Most of those years were as a police officer and a police chief, and my focus was always on protecting the city,” Lewis told The Tribune. “In this particular case, I’m putting my career, my reputation, and all the good things that I’ve done in the community over those years at risk by coming forward as a whistleblower. And I think that this is a hill I’m willing to die on to make sure that the community knows what’s going on.”

Lewis did not confirm whether he will pursue a lawsuit against the city or another person or entity mentioned in the claim, but said nothing is “off the table.” For now, his focus is to continue to heal and rehabilitate his health.