BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
Emails and text messages between Councilwoman Julie Lythcott-Haims and her colleagues at the city of Palo Alto show the damage control that went on behind the scenes after a former student revealed they had an affair while Lythcott-Haims was a dean at Stanford.
Lythcott-Haims emailed city leaders the morning after student Olivia Swanson Haas published a long and lurid essay about their affair on July 10.
“I am working on how to respond. Should I coordinate with city comms on this in any way, or would you prefer to stay completely out of it?” Lythcott-Haims asked in a July 11 email to City Manager Ed Shikada, City Attorney Molly Stump and Mayor Greer Stone.
Stump told Lythcott-Haims that the story didn’t appear to have any connection with her council duties.
“This is entirely a private matter,” Stump said on July 12.
The affair led Lythcott-Haims to leave Stanford in 2012. She went on to write three books about parenting and youth development, including a New York Times bestseller, and ran for Congress earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Haas said her life was “derailed” by the affair for many years. She moved back in with her parents, who said she was manipulated and that Lythcott-Haims abused her power at Stanford.
“I began to see my great love story through a very different lens,” Haas said in her essay.
Four minutes after Stump’s email, Assistant City Manager Kiely Nose said Shikada agreed with Stump.
“We do not have comments, this is a personal matter and not city business,” Nose said.
The city provided a copy of emails and text messages related to the affair after a California Public Records Act request by the Post.
Meeting in Veenker’s backyard
The records show that Lythcott-Haims laid low over the weekend, and then Stone texted her on July 15 to set up a meeting in Councilwoman Vicki Veenker’s backyard “to chat about some council-related issues.”
Lythcott-Haims recapped that conversation in a text message to Shikada and Stump on July 18.
“Greer and Vicki approached me about countering the call that I step down or be censured by instead having me resign from three committees (Stanford, city/schools, youth mental health). I’m fine with this. I plan to make the announcement today,” Lythcott-Haims said.
In her announcement, Lythcott-Haims said, “I am concerned that recent disclosures about my past may hinder my ability to effectively represent the city on those committees.”
Lythcott-Haims remains on council’s Policy and Services Committee, Rail Committee and Retail Committee.
Council candidates have distanced themselves from Lythcott-Haims.
Katie Causey, who is on the city’s Human Relations Commission, returned a $104 donation to Lythcott-Haims when the story broke.
“Her actions were not in alignment with my values,” Causey said.
Planning Commissioner George Lu has removed any mention of Lythcott-Haims from his campaign website after originally featuring her as his main endorsement.
The affair also impacted her career as a writer. Lythcott-Haims typically sends out newsletters to paid subscribers about her life and current events, but she stopped the newsletter on July 21.
Pat Burt call
On July 25, Shikada texted Lythcott-Haims saying that he had a one-on-one meeting with Councilman Pat Burt “where he shared some comments you might want to be aware of.”
Lythcott-Haims said she wanted to call Shikada as soon as possible.
“Your message is sending anxiety through my body,” she told Shikada.
Lythcott-Haims texted Burt and Councilwoman Lydia Kou 45 minutes later, records show.
“I’m finally at a place where I can talk to people and my colleagues are at the top of my list,” Lythcott-Haims said to Kou and Burt.
Shikada reminded Lythcott-Haims that her emails would be public records in a text message on July 29.
Censure talk not allowed
He told her to avoid discussing a “censure” with council members outside of a meeting to avoid a violation of the Brown Act, which requires council to make decisions in public.
Talking about the affair is OK because that’s not city business, Shikada said.
A “censure” is a way for council to formally disapprove of a member. A censure vote can come with other punishments, like removal from committees or limits on publicly funded travel.
Council passed a censure policy in February but hasn’t used it since.
Lythcott-Haims met with Kou and Burt on July 30 and with Vice Mayor Ed Lauing on July 31, in a seventh-floor conference room reserved for council members at City Hall, records show.
Lythcott-Haims made her first public appearance at a council meeting on Aug. 5, reading a prepared statement to start the meeting.
“Many of you feel I’ve betrayed your trust. I understand that,” she said. “Many others of you have shown me grace, which frankly I didn’t expect and I’m grateful for it. Perhaps you’ve offered me grace because you know that none of us wants to be forever judged by our worst mistake.”
What were the deal details made between JLH, Veekner and Stone at their meeting, other than her resignation from 3 of 5 of her committees?
Shikada insisted this was not city business, so why did he warn JLH about Burt?
What happened at the meeting between JLH, Kou and Burt?
Six council members were involved in behind the scenes, non-transparent meetings regarding JLH – no Brown Act violation?
The only public statement by Stone answered none of the above.
Why was all this behind the scenes manipulation not done instead publicly so resident (voters) could understand?
JLH never apologized for decades of lying about her reason for leaving Stanford.
Or for building a career that depended on her continued cover-up and exploitation of having been Stanford Dean.
JLH surely would not have been elected had voters known of her decades of perfidy.
It’s not too late for you to resign. Do so now.
How did this woman survive a congressional campaign without anyone speaking out?
She couldn’t win dog catcher now.
I’m surprised that Lythcott-Haims thought the city staff should help her out of this mess. As I understand it, no member of council is allowed to individually direct the activities of the city staff. Any direction must come in a vote at a public hearing, which has been publicized in advance. It’s shocking that Lythcott-Haims, who allegedly has a law degree from Harvard, doesn’t understand that basic principle of the council-manager form of government. I’m heartened to read that City Attorney Molly Stump and Assistant City Manager Kiely Nose told Lythcott-Haims no.
Julie, you’ve lost your supporters. It’s time to resign.
HMG, I’m surprised that you’re surprised that JHL expected city staff to help her out of this mess because that’s her only focus, HERSELF. She expects laws to be changed FOR her after she violates them like when she knowingly violated campaign finance laws when she ran and then expected them to be changed by the FPPC.
She’s a Harvard-trained lawyer looking for loo0holes — for herself.
That’s why she — someone who hadn’t even finished her first term on the City Council — had the hubris to run against Joe Simitian for a seat in the US Congress, leaving Palo Alto without representation by anyone with local knowledge.
She falsely attacks others but never apologizes for her lies when caught.
She’s all about Julie.
It looks like Julie was able to avoid a censure by privately lobbying the other council members.