SAN ANTONIO — Days before Dr. Dawn Emerick resigned from her post as the city's top health official, she lodged a complaint against her boss, assistant city manager and current acting Metro Health Director Dr. Colleen Bridger, calling for a third-party mediator to intervene in their "mutually fractured, broken and unproductive" relationship, records obtained Monday by Eyewitness Wants to Know revealed.
Following Emerick's June 25 resignation, which was made public June 26, KENS 5 requested documentation of any human resources complaints to which Emerick was a party, either as the complaining party or the responding party.
Officials on Monday released two emails -- the first from Emerick to Lori Steward, the city's director of Human Resources, and Renee Frieda, the city's assistant director of Human Resources. Emerick also copied City Manager Erik Walsh on the email. The June 20 email detailed her initial suggestion to Bridger that they use a third-party mediator to "address and resolve conflicts with one another." Bridger, Emerick wrote, "did not feel we needed mediation and suggested alternative ways to improve our working relationship." As a result, Emerick said, "I am asking HR to facilitate this request with Dr. Bridger and to let me know what else I need to do as a follow up to this formal request."
On June 24, Bridger reached out to Steward, Walsh, and city attorney Andy Segovia, writing, "I realized nobody had the full picture of the extent to which Dawn is routinely insubordinate nor the extent to which she is rude and demeaning with her staff." Bridger provided those on the email with five months of documentation, adding "I have emails to back up a lot of this and am happy to share, but that would have taken a lot more time and I'm not sure what the disciplinary action will be..."
Bridger attached a 4-page list of examples, ranging from allegations Emerick lacked "basic understanding of epidemiology/public health science," to "rude, condescending behavior with staff and partners."
Bridger said Emerick, on multiple occasions, lied about her whereabouts to "make partners look bad or make herself look like a victim." In her email, Bridger wrote Emerick "repeatedly gives misinformation to media, elected officials, the City Manager and me."
"On two occasions she cried with reporters (for no known reason) and on multiple occasions, she gave either inaccurate or inappropriate information to the press," Bridger wrote.
Bridger said she spent several hours verifying Emerick's work "fielding phone calls from people trying to double-check her information because they've all learned she cant be relied upon."
According to Bridger, on one occasion where Emerick gave incorrect information to City Council, she received text messages from her staff with the correct information. Bridger said staff reported that when Emerick returned to the office, she "ordered them to stop telling her she was wrong."
Bridger also alleged Emerick blamed others for "giving her wrong information or that they were withholding information to make her job harder or make her look bad." Bridger said Emerick had also told staff "Dr. Bridger is trying to get me fired."
Bridger wrote that multiple staff members have described morale under Emerick "at an all-time low."
City Manager Erik Walsh released the following statement regarding the human resources complaints:
"Dr. Emerick’s departure was clearly in the best interest of all parties. We are grateful for her efforts while she was here.
Dr. Bridger has implemented significant and overdue improvements in her three weeks since taking over as director of Metro Health. We are fortunate that she has committed to seeing through the response to this public health crisis."
When Emerick resigned in late June, her resignation letter gave no indication of the conflict that preceded her departure. Emerick's resignation letter stressed the importance of personal health and noted that the next person to assume her role should be a person of color.
KENS 5 has reached out to Emerick and Bridger for comment.