Mike Patterson – felon. After two years of intermittent verbal and physical abuse at the hands of her husband, Mike, things came to a head at Mary Patterson’s home on the evening of November 5.
Mike, who was at the time Redmond’s city manager, had threatened to move out of the couple’s home. Mary decided to hold him to it. The news didn’t sit well with Mike who was prone to violent outbursts in the past.
After exchanging words, Mike, an athlete who played in a recreation tackle football league, pushed his wife backwards toward their wine cabinet. Mary stumbled and fell. But the fight didn’t stop. She ended up pinned with her back to the kitchen counter. She was scared of what might happen next – and for good reason. In the past year, Mike had hit her hard enough in the face to swell her eye shut, and on another occasion shoved her into a hotel bathroom hard enough to dent the wall.
So she grabbed something close at hand to defend herself, a meat fork from the butcher block.
Before the fight was over Mike had a scratch on his face from the meat fork, or from Mary’s fingers, she couldn’t remember which, according a restraining order she filed against him Nov. 17.
He left before anyone got seriously hurt, telling his wife that he was ready to move out. He came back three hours later to tell their two young sons that he was leaving for good. Only he didn’t.
And their problems weren’t over.
A week later the couple was arguing again. Mary was trying to get Mike out of the house. His temper flared. He pushed his wife to the floor of their home in front of their two boys.
The fights that had been simmering around the Patterson home were approaching a boiling point. But Mike, who had served as the city manager since 2004 and recently got a hefty pay raise from the city council, was still trying to keep up appearances. So the couple loaded into Mike’s pickup truck and headed to a Redmond Chamber of Commerce function. But they couldn’t stop fighting. Instead of going in, they turned around and went home. And that’s when things went from bad to worse.
Before the night was over, police had arrested Mike on suspicion of felony assault and menacing.
News of Patterson’s arrest hit the local news the following day. While his employer, the Redmond city council was initially mum on Patterson’s future, calling his arrest a “personal matter,” it was clear that he was on the way out. And no one was surprised when Patterson resigned on Dec. 2. But many people, including city staffers were shocked to find out that the city council, four of whom were dropping off in January, voted almost unanimously to hand Patterson a $134,000 severance package, the richest of its kind in the history of Central Oregon city managers. The city has yet to release the details of the compensation package because of a confidentiality agreement councilors signed with Patterson. (Both the Bulletin and the Source have filed a public records request seeking the release of the document.)
Councilors have defended Patterson’s cash severance as a contractual obligation to the former manager, but his recent guilty plea seems to call into question whether the city council put its desire to get rid of Patterson quickly and amicably ahead of its financial duties. The city manual gives the council the right to terminate any employee who is convicted of a misdemeanor or felony. At this point, it’s not clear why Patterson got such a generous deal from the city, which eliminated five positions in October and has stopped work on its new city hall and public work facilities due to lack of money.
“We looked at our obligations and our decisions were based on our obligations,” said former mayor Alan Unger, who is now a Deschutes County Commissioner.
But if the city had waited for Patterson’s legal case to be resolved, which it was less than three weeks after the city council accepted his resignation, it could have terminated him with cause, according to its own employee manual. The handbook, which is available on the city’s website, states that the “following is a list of examples of misconduct, which will often result in discharge, at management’s discretion, without prior disciplinary action: …conviction of a felony or misdemeanor.”
As for the size of the severance package, city councilors say it’s partly a case of bad timing. Patterson renegotiated his contract with the city council in August. At which time the city gave him a salary bump and increased his severance from two months pay to six months pay. It also, at Patterson’s request, included a “silly season” clause that provided that Patterson would be entitled to a full year’s salary if he were to be dismissed within six months (before or after) a municipal election. Such provisions are designed to insulate managers from politically motivated firings – as happened to former Bend city manager Larry Patterson in 2001.
“Unfortunately, we were the victims of our own successful negotiations…If it had been six months earlier or later, the severance package wouldn’t have been the same,” said Mayor George Endicott.
But that’s not exactly accurate. Patterson was entitled to the full severance, if the council removed him from his post. Patterson, however, was allowed to resign rather than be fired, which means he was entitled to only what the city council was willing to give him.
One councilor who was there for the behind-closed-doors negotiations said the council got a pretty straightforward offer from Patterson-his immediate resignation in exchange for the full severance package. The entire exchange lasted less than half an hour, and councilors didn’t seem interested in haggling over details, said former Councilor Joe Mansfield.
Mansfield said the council seemed to have made up its mind before it sat down with Patterson. He thinks the city council should have taken more time to let all the facts come out in the case.
“I think it’s not good to rush to judgment. That’s what I was preaching to the council, but I feel it fell on deaf ears,” Mansfield said.
Mansfield said he is also uncomfortable that the city was represented by Patterson’s hand picked number two, Sharon Harris, who was serving as both assistant city manager and human resources director during the negotiations with Patterson.
He said he shared that concern with some of the other councilors.
“I thought it was inappropriate because she has a vested interest. She was second in command, and in fact promoted by Mike Patterson… I thought this should be given to some independent people to examine…again it fell on deaf ears,” Mansfield said.
Several other councilors defended Harris, who did not return a phone call seeking comment for this story.
Former councilor Irv Nygren, who spent eight years on the city council, said Harris served primarily as a go-between for the city council and her boss.
“She wasn’t negotiating on his behalf. It was better to have the human resources person, which she was still in that capacity, rather than one of us dealing with it,” he said.
But as Mansfield remembers it, there was almost no communication between the council and Patterson prior to the Dec. 2 meeting.
Not only were city councilors communicating little with each other, they weren’t talking to investigators. Deputy District Attorney Darryl Nakahira handled the criminal case against Patterson. Nakahira said he wasn’t aware of any Redmond councilor trying to contact him about the charges against Patterson. If they had, they might have learned that prosecutors had what Nakahira later called a “very strong” case against Patterson, who entered a domestic violence diversionary program, but was arrested again on Sunday for violating his wife’s restraining order against him.
Still, councilors remain firm that they did the right thing by acting swiftly to distance from Patterson – regardless of the cost to taxpayers.
“I think what we did was the best thing we could do at the time,” Nygren said.
This article appears in Jan 15-21, 2009.
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all i think i can muster is “wow”.
Wait until his fellow miscreants in lock-up find out he likes to punch helpless women (in front of little kids no less). In that world he is considered the lowest of the low….lets see how he handles being on the recieving end of physical punishment. In addition, he should be billed for police calls to his home, court fees and his time in jail.
Thanks Source for the investigative journalism and well-written article. So refreshing.
I am thoroughly disgusted with Mr. Patterson. Not only did he intimidate his wife, but he put on a elaborate charade for the City Council in order to take taxpayer’s money. We have seen unscrupulous people like this all over the news – people who find it easy to prey on others during difficult economic times. When Mr. patterson resigned, he was fully aware of the economic hardships the City of Redmond had to face. I believe at the time of his arrest the City had already gone through one round of layoffs.
Mr. Patterson is a disgrace. The fact that he cannot even honor the restraining order on him, reveals his true character, or lack there of. I am also extremely disappointed at the City Council’s lack of foresight in this matter and taking the easy way out. There was no shame in waiting to see how the situation played out. As indicated by this article, had they waited, it would saved the taxpayers and hard working citizens of Redmond a load of money. As it is, this excessive severance package may have very well caused additional employees to be laid off.
My hope is that Mr. Patterson gets a conscience while he spends time in jail, and thinks about what his actions have done, not only to his wife, but his sons.
Their decision was probably influenced by human resources counsel that held out the specter of a law suit or protracted, costly court fight. Too many times the easy way out is the costly way out because decision makers don’t want to risk the unpredictable jury process. Patterson doesn’t exactly appear to be the kind of person who would engender much sympathy from a jury–but OJ was innocent, right?
At least there was no coverup and the Redmond City police dealt openly with the situation. Where were the police reports in other cities that Mr. Patterson also displayed domestic violence issues?
I remember reading a featured article about Patterson in the Redmond Spokesman quite a while ago. Among other things it covered his jock wannabe exploits with some local sandlot football team. Very revealing in the article was a quote by Patterson that went something like this: “I like to hit people” or “I have to hit people”. This should have been enough of a clue to all these so called human relations experts to keep an eye on this character even though the remark was made in his fantasy wannabe jock dream world. Patterson “likes to hit people” especially women. Some tough jock isn’t he? As for the payoff he got, the citizens of Redmond should be demonstrating in front of city hall over this ridiculous action. I hope Unger wasn’t the ringleader of this stupid move. I voted for him in the recent election but now regret it because of this fiscal irresponsibility. I don’t buy that lawsuit BS. Patterson didn’t have a leg to stand on with this matter. Apparently he successfully bullied the city council too.
Just to set the record straight, I believe Mike Patterson’s wife name is Aggie, however, that could be a nick name. I really think this guy thinks he is above the law and has no conscience. I’ve seen him in action and he is real slick. A great manipulator! I too am outraged that he was awarded the severence package and am certain that had the city council waited, it would have been obvious that he didn’t deserve it. Where was the city attourney in all of this?!? The citizens of Redmond deserved more that this!
Patterson pled guilty – not found guilty. Who knows what he would have done if the city did not pay him. If he fought the charge, the city would have been paying him for limited performance or even non-performance during the trial (months and months probably). If the city fired him, he was due the severance package anyway. If he was fired “for cause” then pretty srong evidence would be required. As I undertand it, city personnel rules then kick in. This means a very long drawn out process. Again paying him during the process. The council took the easy way out, but probably also the cheapest way out.
Dear Otherthoughs:
While your perspective is appreciated, it oversimplifys the matter and is fraught with speculation and hypotheticals. However, you do have one cogent clause: “The council took the easy way out..”.
Every time I see the picture of Patterson I just can’t help but think he looks like the poster “Man” for an abuser.
I feel for the residents of Redmond, that in this economically difficult time their city council had to give this “man” a bribe to get him out sight to avoid answering questions as to why they allowed him in their government.
It seems to be the trend, to pay off people who break the law,use and abuse law abiding citizens.
I am so disguisted with patterson, but really redmond city counsel. They really gave him 123,000 pay to leave, for abuse. The lady that used city credit card debit resign without getting any pention. How dare a man abuse another person and the city give him money for ‘stepping down’
The guilty plea was the only way to eliminate future convictions. This was a smart move by Patterson, and a well thought out move. The DA (who is a joke) uses this as a poster conviction for his own political gain. The restraining order violation is also a joke. Restraining orders allow certain contact until SHE decides she is upset or had enough then it is to jail with you. It doesn’t even have to be substantial contact. Once again the emotional liberal media “the source” is off the mark. And its readers are showing themselves as closed minded “I read it so it must be true” people who speak before they know.
Spoken like someone who knows a thing or two about restraining orders. Law enforcement, no doubt.
If it’s not law enforcement, it has to be Patterson!
I am still inclined to remember that 95% of disputes take two. I am not saying I agree with his behavior at all. He deserves to have consequences. But I would assume that she is not an ‘angel’ either. The media loves a villain and a victim…do we get the whole story? I have been in an abusive relationship, but I have also been pushed to my break point and wanted to strike out. Who knows? As far as the city councilors, and city staff, I have met a lot of them and, well, good luck Redmond. The ‘interim’ city manager..not a great choice. I think someone should have listened to Mr. Mansfield.
I’d like to know what his subordinates have to say about what he was like to work for. Not just here in Redmond… but perhaps previous places he has worked as well. I think his true colors could be revieled from what they have to say.
Statistically wife beaters are wimps and cowards. I thank god she was not my sister…. yes I thank god for this. Pepper Spray or a stun gun would be a great idea. Stun gun makes the perpetrator drop as well as dropping whatever is in the colon as it shuts down the system for a second and it all comes out. Resorting to violence is always a LAST resort and can be avoided.