ANSONIA – The former director of the Ansonia Library alleged the city racially discriminated against her before retiring from the role earlier this year, The Valley Indy has learned.
Jennifer Lester said in a 2023 complaint to the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) that the city allowed a hostile work environment, ignored her requests for staffing and funding, and failed to protect her from harassment.
However, the state commission found there was “no reasonable cause” to believe the city had discriminated against Lester on account of her race, according to documentation of the investigation.
The Valley Indy reached out to Lester for comment but did not hear back.
Ansonia Corporation Counsel John Marini said the ruling was a win for the city.
“It went to a full evidentiary hearing and the city prevailed. Mrs. Lester did not pursue an appeal,” Marini said. “The city and its leadership have a great amount of respect for what Mrs. Lester accomplished as director of (the) library and appreciated her years of service and dedication.”
The commission found that many of Lester’s allegations happened too long ago for members to consider. The commission also found that many city departments were struggling to meet staffing and funding requirements – not just the library.
After the draft decision was reached on Sept. 16, 2024, Lester requested a “release of jurisdiction,” which would have allowed her to pursue her claim in civil court. She has not filed a lawsuit, however.
The Complaint
The complaint was obtained by The Valley Indy in November after a request to the state in August under the state’s Freedom of Information Act.
According to the July 21, 2023 complaint, Lester said her coworkers began harassing her after she was appointed to the director role in 2017. Her coworkers said she was only appointed to the position because she was Puerto Rican, the complaint says.
“The work environment was hostile because her colleagues and staff did not think she was qualified for her position but a mere token,” the complaint says.
Lester alleged that the city kept a tight rein over her, while simultaneously denying her the staff needed to run the library.
“The city micromanaged everything she did from reprimanding employees, to hiring decisions, which continues to undermine her ability to manage the department,” according to the complaint.
The complaint says the city moved unqualified employees from other departments to staff the library, and that Lester ended up doing the work of several positions without compensation.
After the city hired Jennifer Shuart to work as the children’s librarian, the complaint says communication suddenly became better between the city and the library.
“Ms. Shuart asked for funding for repairs to the library, when requested by Ms. Lester in the past the city ignored (the requested funding), and the funds were quickly dispersed,” the complaint says.
The complaint notes that Jennifer Shuart is married to Joshua Shuart, the president of the Board of Aldermen. It says Shuart was not Lester’s pick for the position, but that the city hired her anyway.
“Ms. Lester has been discriminated against by the city including, but not limited to, harassment, and retaliation based on her race,” the complaint concludes.
Ansonia Was Struggling Financially
In its findings, the commission found that the city likely did not discriminate against Lester on account of her race.
The commission did not find any examples of Lester’s staff or subordinates racially disparaging her.
Lester named one example in her testimony, but the person in question had retired before she filed her complaint.
Regarding funding and staffing shortages, former Ansonia Economic Development Director Sheila O’Malley asked that they be considered against the city’s wider financial context, according to the findings.
She testified that the shortages were due to budget issues on the city’s side, and were not examples of discrimination against Lester.
O’Malley, according to documents, said that Ansonia selling its WPCA was an example of the rough financial waters the city was navigating.
“O’Malley testified that Respondent has significant budget issues since they have a very high unemployment rate and very low median income. Respondent has had to take drastic steps to meet minimum budgeting needs. For example, they had to sell all assets from the Water Pollution Control Authority and also sell a 60-acre parcel of town property,” the document says.
Additionally, witnesses called by the city said there were staffing shortages across multiple departments, including the public works department, police department, tax assessor’s office, and senior center. They said Lester was not unique in being denied staffing requests.
“Respondent’s witnesses confirmed that nearly every department’s director claims they’re short staffed,” the findings say.
The city found money for repairs after Shuart was hired because it also received extra federal ARPA funding due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the findings. Shuart denied in her testimony that she had been given preferential treatment. She pointed out that she’s had many of her funding requests denied, too.
“Shuart’s been denied requests for extra funding for children and teen books. Her budget was cut for the ‘sharing with adults’ program. She was denied funding many times for proposed professional development workshops. Shuart testified she even had to pay out of her own pocket for some of her necessary marketing and database software/materials,” the findings say.
The commission also found evidence that the city’s choice of a candidate other than one proposed by Lester – an example of the micromanaging alleged in her complaint – was not racially discriminatory.
Mary Ann Capone, Lester’s predecessor who is white, said in testimony that the city often did not go with her hiring recommendations.
The commission said that the city had a reasonable explanation for hiring Shuart, pointing to her qualifications and subsequent job performance.
“The investigator would’ve found it persuasive if Shuart was both objectively unqualified and then performed poorly. Neither are true,” the findings say. “Shuart was well qualified to be the Children’s Librarian with close to 20 years’ experience in teaching children and leading children’s programs and workshops. Since her hire, even Complainant confirmed that Shuart has performed well.”
Lester had also alleged in her complaint that the city did not act to protect her after a patron harassed her.
According to the complaint, a homeless patron threatened Lester and her family, and called another patron a racial slur. Lester went to the city for help, the complaint says, but none ever came.
However, in the commission’s decision, it found that the same patron had also harassed staff at many other city departments. The patron had made threats to city staff, including Marini and O’Malley, the findings say.
Although Lester had requested a windowed door and a buzzer for her office, Ansonia Police Chief Wayne Williams testified that a windowed door would have made her less safe and a third-party buzzer would have been slower than just dialing 911. The commission found that Lester was not denied protection based on her race.
The draft determination, which is dated Sept. 16, 2024, and signed by CHRO Investigator Christopher Blustein, said the commission didn’t have reason to believe Lester had been racially discriminated against.
“After reviewing all of the evidence in the Commission’s file, the Investigator concludes that there is no reasonable cause for believing that a discriminatory practice has been or is being committed as alleged in the complaint,” says the determination.
The CHRO signed its ‘release of jurisdiction’ on Oct. 3, 2024, a little more than two weeks after the draft decision was signed. There do not appear to have been any other proceedings connected to the complaint since then.
The city hired Jennifer Shuart to become the new director. Shuart also continues to work as the children’s librarian.
Why Is This In The News Now?
Lester retired from the position July 29, after working for the library since 2000.
No Ansonia officials mentioned the acrimony happening behind the scenes.
The Valley Indy received a tip over the summer that a complaint had been filed with the state CHRO. The complaint was released Nov. 21, more than three months after The Valley Indy lodged a Freedom of Information request.
Marini shared additional CHRO documentation after a reporter asked him to verify statements made in an interview on Nov. 25.