A recent investigation of workplace complaints against former Tigard Mayor Heidi Lueb is just the tip of the toxic iceberg, according to multiple former city employees.

The workplace issues have translated to the departure of at least seven high level city staffers in the past two years, including a city manager, assistant city manager, human resources director, community development director, DEI manager, IT director and communications manager.

The sudden resignation of Lueb last week came on the heels of a workplace investigation that found she engaged in “disrespectful workplace conduct” and violated the city’s personnel policies. The investigation hinted at recent staff turnover, linking it to Lueb’s actions.

But records obtained by OPB suggest Lueb’s alleged disrespectful conduct was par for the course at Tigard City Hall. Those records show a city rife with discord over the past year, and a leadership team that potentially downplayed or retaliated against each other.

Beyond Lueb

An email from one employee to a member of City Council describes a city culture where complaints about racism, sexism and more were ignored by city leaders while those same leaders used complaints of their own to retaliate against staff who raised concerns.

“We have been targeted, bullied, and retaliated against by (Assistant City Manager Kathy) Nyland,” Tigard communications manager Kent Wyatt wrote to City Councilor Maureen Wolf in April 2024. “At least 15 to 20 current and former employees, including myself, have shared our experiences with ACM Nyland to (City Manager) Steve Rymer, (City Attorney) Shelby Rihala, and Human Resources, yet nothing has changed and the workplace has only become more toxic.”

Wyatt left the city in 2025. Rymer retired in 2024 at the age of 56.

His email followed the resignation of IT Director Maiya Delgoda less than a year after she was hired. Delgoda apparently left due to workplace safety issues.

“The safety of our workforce should be utmost priority, and it is with a heavy heart that I step down from my position, as I can no longer fulfill my duties under these conditions,” Delgoda wrote in her resignation letter.

While Delgoda’s letter did not mention specific safety concerns, Community Development Director Kenny Asher offered some insight in his own resignation letter one month later.

“When people cannot do their jobs without being undermined by their bosses, that is an unsafe situation,” Asher wrote. “When one’s economic livelihood is threatened by bosses simply because truth is spoken to power, that creates an unsafe situation. When bosses claim to support human values like equity and belonging but act to manipulate and obfuscate, it creates a lack of safety for everyone.”

Wyatt’s letter claimed that Nyland specifically targeted Delgoda and Kurt Jun, the city’s first ever diversity, equity and inclusion manager.

Wyatt alleged Nyland undermined Delgoda and Jun by roadblocking their projects, belittling their work to co-workers and withholding critical information on city policy and procedures.

Jun, who resigned in 2024, also sent a letter to City Council members after Delgoda’s departure. Jun took a more direct approach, calling for the council to fire Nyland from her job as assistant city manager, discipline City Manager Rymer and conduct an investigation of the various workplace issues.

“Multiple staff members have detailed a consistent pattern of abusive, divisive, and unethical conduct by Kathy Nyland, contributing to a work culture that is antithetical to the values we hold dear in Tigard,” Jun wrote. “This has not only dampened staff morale but has also led to the resignation of key personnel, including Maiya Delgoda.”

Reporting complaints

In his letter, Wyatt also described a conflict of interest in the staff complaint reporting process. According to Wyatt, complaints against Nyland were investigated by the HR director, who Nyland directly supervised.

Complaints that went directly to the city manager also allegedly fell on deaf ears.

Jun apparently shared his concerns about Nyland’s bullying with Rymer on multiple occasions. According to Wyatt, Jun requested that he no longer report to Nyland but his requests were denied.

Despite dozens of complaints, Wyatt said the city manager repeatedly chose not to act.

“His inaction leaves us with an unsafe, toxic work environment; increased liability from past and future claims of discrimination, targeting, bullying, and retaliation; and increased costs from the Tyler project and employee turnover,” Wyatt wrote.

Wyatt’s letter to Councilor Wolf also described Nyland’s attempts at retaliation against Wolf for reporting a number of concerns to Rymer in 2023. Wyatt said he shared a 12-page outline of various complaints against Nyland in June 2023. At Rymer’s suggestion, Wyatt also brought his complaints to the HR director.

“Ironically, around this same time, I received a meeting request from the HR Director and ACM Nyland to discuss my ‘recent work performance,’” Wyatt wrote.

Wyatt alleged Nyland shared “inaccurate information” about his work performance at the meeting. When Wyatt asked her to share her specific concerns, Nyland allegedly refused.

In the 10 months between that meeting and the time he wrote to Wolf, Wyatt said Nyland stopped speaking with him despite being his supervisor, canceled their weekly check-in meetings and removed him from key city projects.

Community development director Asher’s resignation also hinted at potential retaliation for raising issues. His letter noted a threat of discipline from Deputy City Manager Emily Tritsch, “alleging he failed to build partnerships and a healthy workplace culture.”

“I stand by my accomplishments in Tigard with pride, especially the culture of caring, real trust and exceptional collaboration that has been the hallmark of Tigard Community Development under my leadership,” Asher wrote.

Former mayor’s role

According to the investigation of Lueb, which is dated Sept. 2, “there is evidence of staff leaving their employment and transferring their positions (even to their financial detriment) because of their negative experiences and negative perceptions of Mayor Lueb’s conduct and treatment towards them, as well as seeing how she treats other staff.”

While the investigative report includes numerous accounts of Lueb disrespecting staff and other councilors, it does not seem to take into account the strained relationships among many city staff and management.

Most of the allegations against Lueb noted in the report occurred in 2025 or did not include a specific date. Lueb began serving as mayor in 2023 after four years on council.

Washington County Commissioner Jason Snider, who served as Tigard mayor from 2019-2022 when Lueb was on council, said she was not particularly problematic when they served together. He recalled trying to help Lueb and other council members communicate better.

“But that wasn’t just her,” Snider said. “There were other councilors in that space and in that relationship.”

Following Lueb’s resignation last week, Wolf, who is now serving as mayor pro tem, told city staff that the City Council is committed to a respectful workplace.

“You deserve a workplace where unprofessional behavior is not tolerated, and systems are in place to appropriately report concerns and complaints,” Wolf said in a statement at an all-staff meeting. “As your Council, we encourage you to speak out and make an HR report if you encounter behavior that is not in line with our workplace policies.”

Wolf did not return multiple requests for comment from OPB about how she responded to complaints raised to her in 2024 by several employees.

Her recent statement to staff, however, noted that councilors would undergo anti-bullying and harassment workplace training.

“We will also be re-evaluating our own ground rules and policies and developing an escalation process for any future complaints to ensure that a situation like this doesn’t happen again,” she added.

City manager Brent Stockwell, who began leading the city in June, said city management is committed to helping the council with these efforts.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/09/18/tigard-mayor-heidi-lueb-resignation-city-staff-turmoil-issues/