Appointee sued
in race case

Women alleged in 2003 that
derogatory remarks were made
by the managing director nominee

The mayor's newly appointed city managing director says a lawsuit that alleged he made racially derogatory remarks to nonwhite employees was "simple extortion."

John Reed was sued by three black women in 2003 while he was head of BriteSmile Inc., according to the Contra Costa Times. The suit alleged Reed called one of the plaintiffs "Aunt Jemima," referred to an Asian employee as "Mr. Sushi," and another woman as a "half-breed" after he heard her speaking German on the phone, the Dec. 24, 2003, article reported.

Reed told KITV that the company settled the lawsuit to avoid a costly court case.

"It's a small settlement," Reed said yesterday, the day after being named to the city post by Mayor Mufi Hannemann. "And from our viewpoint, it was simple extortion. But we had to let it go. Otherwise it would cost four or five times as much to litigate."

The paper reported that Reed "allegedly compared employees in their small, mostly black work group with 'dogs,' and commented on what he called the large size of black women's posteriors."

While a report on the lawsuit was easily found by doing a Google search on the Internet, Hannemann was not aware of it, an aide said.

"The mayor asked him, as he asked all the department heads, that if he's appointed, if there was anything in their backgrounds that would prove embarrassing or might scuttle their confirmation by the City Council," said city spokesman Bill Brennan. "John Reed said no."

"The mayor talked to several business people around town, trying to get a sense if this was a good person to go with, and all indications were that it was," Brennan said.

Hannemann would not comment last night on the lawsuit, but might make a statement later, Brennan said.

The mayor wanted to speak with Reed one-on-one to discuss the lawsuit, Brennan said last night.

"The mayor can withdraw his nomination if he sees fit, although he hasn't indicated that he has any intention of doing that," he said.

BriteSmile announced Dec. 8, 2003, that Reed would retire in April, and a company spokeswoman said there was no connection to the lawsuit.

Before joining BriteSmile, Reed was chairman of Pacific retail development for international duty-free operator DFS Group Ltd.

He unexpectedly resigned in May 1999 as the chairman and board member of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, to which he was appointed in August 1998 by then-Gov. Ben Cayetano.

Reed said he was stepping down for personal reasons, citing minor medical problems needing treatment. He also resigned at that time from DFS Group.