Cristina Garcia Chief of Staff Alleged Perpetrator in Retaliation Scheme Against Former Staffer





By Brian Hews

In February, the Washington Post reported that David John Kernick, a former field representative for Cristina Garcia, said Garcia approached him after a fundraiser at a whiskey bar in 2014 and suggested that they play spin the bottle in her hotel room.

That was according to a complaint that was filed with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing in 2018.

The complaint also said that Kernick’s time working for Garcia was “extremely stressful” and that she was “very disparaging to the staff and others, used vulgar language, discussed topics inappropriate for the workplace and showed herself to be very vindictive in nature.”

Kernick said he was written up for insubordination after he complained about Garcia’s invite and was fired two days later.

But Tim Reardon, Garcia’s chief of staff at the time, told the Sacramento Bee that Kernick’s accusations were a “complete falsehood.” Reardon said Kernick was fired “because he wasn’t doing his job.”

“It’s like a malicious, really bizarre alternate universe built on a lot of innuendo and lies solely to destroy the character of Assemblywoman Garcia,” Reardon told the Bee.

Now Reardon’s statements could come back to haunt him, his staffers, and even Garcia herself.

Hews Media Group-Community News has obtained a Complaint for Damages filed by Kernick and his attorney Dan Gilleon, against Reardon alleging “intrusion into private affairs.”

The complaint was filed under California Tort Claims Act as a precursor to a pending lawsuit alleging the illegal release of Reardon’s employment files to the media.

The complaint seeks unlimited and punitive damages.

The complaint alleges that Reardon disciplined and wrote-up Kernick in 2014 but waited until two days before Kernick was fired to place the letter in his employee file.

The letter cited issues over the previous several months that had not, at the time, warranted write-ups or discipline.

Retaliation timeline

On Feb 17, 2018 Kernick filed his complaint with Fair Housing against Garcia.

The next day, Reardon told the Bee that, Mr. Kernick “ought to open up his own personnel records.”

Within hours of his statement to the Bee, the 2014 discipline letter was released to the press along with telephone numbers of Garcia contacts.

The discipline letter written by Reardon. Click on image to see larger document.

Kernick alleges it was Reardon who illegally and maliciously took a picture of the discipline letter and leaked it to the press.

And Gilleon and Kernick back-up their allegations using forensic evidence.

Gilleon told HMG-CN, “we are certainly glad Mr. Reardon is environmentally conscious, his actions to retaliate might never have been revealed.”

The forensic evidence showed that Reardon summarized the Kernick disciplinary actions, emailed the Summary to himself, and printed the Summary document.

Reardon then typed up the actual disciplinary letter to Kernick and, in an environmentally friendly move, printed that letter on the back of the previously printed Summary email to himself.

After obtaining the document, the Gilleon forensic team was able to ascertain some of the words that showed through on the two-sided print document.

The Kernick disciplinary letter with words showing through from the back side. Click on image to see larger document.

And what they found is what Gilleon called, “the smoking gun of retaliation.”

One line typed by Reardon read, “I received word from Patrick that John (Kernick) had not yet arrived at the office. A few minutes later I heard them …that his car battery had died.”

The dead battery incident was cited in Reardon’s disciplinary letter.

Line three indicates “your car battery trouble was stressful.” Click on image to see larger document.

Another line read, “Was scheduled to staff the member at an event for transition…home wearing faded blue jeans and a t-shirt.”

The inappropriately dressed incident was once again cited in Reardon’s disciplinary letter.

Line two indicates “being inappropriately dressed while staffing.” Click on image to see larger document.

“This is the smoking gun of retaliation and shows their penchant for lying,” said Gilleon.

“We alleged it was Reardon in our first case, he denied it, we obtained the forensic letter, and now he is not giving a statement to anyone.”

Sources are telling HMG-CN that there are many more staffers that are afraid to come forward against Garcia for fear of retaliation.

“I have been doing this a long time, said Gilleon, “I have never seen people who were so certain that if they came forward they would be retaliated against.”

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