Lesbian fire chief agrees to step down

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Bonnie Bleskachek, the nation’s first openly lesbian big-city fire chief, has agreed to step down in the wake of firefighter lawsuits accusing her of harassment and discrimination, her attorney and the mayor said.

Mayor R.T. Rybak announced the agreement in a letter to the city’s executive council in which he wrote that he no longer had confidence in Chief Bleskachek. The executive council was to discuss the agreement yesterday, and the full City Council could consider it as early as Friday.

Chief Bleskachek, 43, was hailed as a trailblazer when she was promoted to the top job two years ago, but her tenure has been troubled.

Three female firefighters have sued, claiming various acts of discrimination and sexual harassment. Two of the lawsuits were settled, but earlier this month a male firefighter brought another lawsuit claiming he was denied advancement because he is male and not homosexual.

A city investigation is under way. This summer, a separate investigation by the city’s Department of Civil Rights into a 2003 complaint by a male firefighter — brought when Chief Bleskachek was a battalion chief — found it “likely” that the department gave preferential treatment to lesbians or those who socialized with them.

Chief Bleskachek was ill with the flu yesterday and unavailable for comment on the severance agreement. She has denied wrongdoing.

Her attorney, Jerry Burg, said the chief’s employment agreement calls for her to be reassigned as battalion chief. She then would request a demotion to captain, he said.

Mr. Burg accused Mr. Rybak of spinning the negotiated agreement “as if he’s addressing an employee problem” that remains unproven, but he acknowledged that Chief Bleskachek was ready to step down.

“That is something she has wanted for a lot longer than she has been talking about in public,” he said. “It’s been clear for a long time that the job of chief takes energy from her life that she no longer wanted to give it, all things considered.”

Jeremy Hanson, an aide to Mr. Rybak, said it was not a “certainty” that Chief Bleskachek would remain with the department.

The city has spent more than $410,000 on the investigation, legal settlements and compensation of Chief Bleskachek during her paid leave, which began March 22.