Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
ELISA KUNKEL,
Plaintiff,
vs.
Defendants.
Plaintiff Elisa Kunkel, by her attorney Robert M. Liechty of ROBERT M LIECHTY PC,
Weld County Clerk is domiciled in Weld County and Carly Koppes, the County’s Clerk
and Recorder, also resides in Weld County. Venue is proper in this Court.
2. This Court has jurisdiction over the matter because Mrs. Kunkel has
3. The Office of the Clerk for Weld County is an elected office pursuant to
Colorado’s Constitution, Article XIV, §8, and CRS §30-10-401 et seq. At all times
pertinent, Ms. Koppes was the elected Clerk and Recorder for Weld County.
4. Mrs. Kunkel began working for Weld County in 2000 and eventually rose
5. Ms. Koppes became the county clerk and recorder for Weld County in
January, 2015. She was then the supervisor over approximately 40 employees in three
departments, the motor vehicle department, the election department, and the recording
department. As such, she was the final supervisor over Mrs. Kunkel.
the two. However, on Friday, December 11, 2015, there was an incident in which it was
claimed that Mrs. Kunkel had wrongly accused a trainer, Kari Weber, that the trainer
had directed her trainee to water plants when there was a backup of customers to
which, in the public’s eye, the trainee should have been attending. That evening, Mrs.
Kunkel realized her mistake and retracted her comments regarding Ms. Weber. This
minor incident expanded over the next few weeks, resulting in Ms. Koppes demoting
lower pay.
Commissioners and the demotion was reversed on May 4, 2016, a reversal that had not
occurred in approximately 30 years. She received her back pay and ostensibly was
returned to her former position, but, out of spite, Ms. Koppes directed that Mrs. Kunkel
9. On June 13, 2016, Mrs. Kunkel’s supervisor, Cindy Loftus, gave Mrs.
Kunkel a failing annual job evaluation. Previously, Ms. Loftus had given Mrs. Kunkel
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only good annual evaluations. Ms. Loftus did this at the direction of Ms. Koppes (or to
please Ms. Koppes) to retaliate against Mrs. Kunkel for her successful appeal.
10. Weld County has an entity called the County Council. It is comprised of
five unpaid council members who do such things as setting the salaries of elected
county officials, filling vacancies on the board of county commissioners, and reviewing
11. On June 20, 2016, Mrs. Kunkel asked the County Council for an audit of
how Ms. Koppes was running her office because her office was providing poor service
to the citizens of the county. In the three years prior to Ms. Koppes becoming the clerk
and recorder, there had been no turnover of county employees in the department.
During the first year and one half of Ms. Koppes’ tenure there was a turnover of 11
employees, over 25% of the employees. As a result, service to the public was
extremely slow and frustrating for the public and Mrs. Kunkel wanted an audit into Ms.
12. Mrs. Kunkel’s request was on the front page of the local paper on the day
after Mrs. Kunkel made the request, and, on that day, June 21, 2016, Ms. Koppes
directed that Mrs. Kunkel would be moved from the office in Greeley, where she lived, to
an office in Del Camino, 30 miles away. This was done to punish Mrs. Kunkel for
entry-level position in planning and zoning, to separate Mrs. Kunkel from Ms. Koppes,
but which would allow Mrs. Kunkel to stay in Greeley. Mrs. Kunkel retained her prior
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pay scale, but, because this was an entry-level position, her ability to advance as she
14. The County Council granted Mrs. Kunkel’s request to review the
LLC, of San Francisco, California. It issued its report on August 18, 2017.
Persistent understaffing, the use of overtime, low employee morale, and high
turnover rates have created a negative feedback loop in the Motor Vehicle
Department of the Clerk and Recorder’s Office. … Comparisons with other Clerk
and Recorder’s Offices in Colorado show that Weld County’s Office is persistently
understaffed and does not have key managerial positions found in other counties.
Weld County’s population has increased by 56 percent since 2000 and is projected
to grow even faster through 2030. These new residents have increased the
workload of the Clerk and Recorder’s Office, particularly in the Motor Vehicle
Department, through increases in vehicle registrations, voting, and property
transactions.
Wait times for typical motor vehicle transactions in the Greeley office average
approximately 23 minutes, often frustrating the public. … Compared to the nine
peer counties in Colorado, all three Clerk and Recorder functions (Motor Vehicle,
Recording, and Elections) are understaffed.
18. This performance review confirmed Mrs. Kunkel’s observation and justified
19. Mrs. Kunkel’s request to the County Council was on a matter of public
concern – poor service to the citizens of Weld County. This request for a performance
review was not part of Mrs. Kunkel’s normal duties. The First Amendment protects Mrs.
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Kunkel’s right to make such a request and Ms. Koppes’ punishment of Mrs. Kunkel for
making this request violated Mrs. Kunkel’s first-amendment rights, for which Ms.
depression and anxiety disorder, for which she is entitled to recovery from Ms. Koppes.
Since April 4, 2017, Mrs. Kunkel has been on intermittent FMLA leave for anxiety
disorder and depression. In addition, she is entitled to recover for her inconvenience
and embarrassment of having to begin developing her working skills in the planning and
21. In addition, Ms. Koppe’s actions were done with a reckless indifference to
22. Mrs. Kunkel is entitled to her attorney’s fees and costs necessary to
23. Ms. Koppes caused Ms. Loftus to give Ms. Kunkle a failing annual job
evaluation on June 13, 2016. Ms. Koppes caused this to punish Mrs. Kunkel for
above.
24. Such punishment constitutes retaliation against Mrs. Kunkel for exercising
her constitutional right to due process. This violates §1983 and Mrs. Kunkel suffered
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25. In addition, Ms. Koppe’s actions were done with a reckless indifference to
26. Mrs. Kunkel is entitled to her attorney’s fees and costs necessary to
27. Ms. Koppes knew of Mrs. Kunkel’s contract with the County. She
intentionally caused the county to change her contract as stated in ¶¶ 7 and 12 above.
This interference with Mrs. Kunkel’s contract was improper and has caused her
damages.
retaliation for Mrs. Kunkel’s efforts to expose the malfeasance in the County Clerk’s
30. Colorado’s Constitution, §24, states that “The people have the right … to
apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances, by
31. Ms. Koppes retaliated against Mrs. Kunkel for exercising this right, a
retaliation was knowing and intentional, her actions were willful and wanton.
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WHEREFORE, plaintiff Elisa Kunkel respectfully requests that this Court grant
judgment in her favor and for interest, costs, attorney’s fees, and such other relief as
Address of plaintiff:
5203 West 2nd St.
Greeley, CO 80634