Official hurls more accusations at Brainard as outsiders back his claim they were dating

A day after Carmel Clerk-Treasurer Christine Pauley escalated her harassment complaints about Mayor Jim Brainard, several people have come forward to say that Pauley and the six-term mayor had a mutual relationship that was far more than professional—something she has denied.

Christine Pauley

Pauley's said on Thursday that Brainard "forcibly" kissed her as they were leaving a holiday party, an accusation that comes days after she accused the mayor of creating a toxic environment at city hall by making unwanted advances. She said she turned down two invitations from Brainard in early 2016 to accompany him on personal trips, one to Rome and the other to a secluded lodge in Wisconsin.

Brainard, 65, denied the allegations through his spokesperson at city hall. He did not return a message seeking comment. Earlier this week, the mayor said that he and Pauley had a “mutual and equal” relationship for a short time in 2016.

Three people have come forward to say Pauley isn't being totally upfront about her relationship with Brainard.

Jim Brainard

A woman who formerly lived in Pauley's neighborhood told IBJ that Pauley told her in June 2016 that she was dating Brainard. The neighbor, Amy Stacey, told IBJ she saw Brainard at Pauley's home on at least two occasions. 

Nancy Heck, Carmel's director of community relations and economic development, sent the media three emails, including one from Stacey, that Heck said proves the mayor and Pauley had a personal relationship. 

Stacey told IBJ she knows the exact date—June 21, 2016—that Pauley told her about her relationship with Brainard because she messaged a friend of the Brainard's to ask if the mayor was still married. Brainard legally separated from his ex-wife, Elizabeth, in 2015. Their divorce was finalized in 2017. 

"I am coming forward in the interest of the city of Carmel, in defense of an innocent man, and least but not last for all the women that really have endured sexual harassment in the workplace," Stacey wrote in the email. 

Another man, Lonnie Schauwecker, wrote to the mayor to say that he saw the pair together at a Shen Yung performance in 2016. "It was clear that they were in a relationship and held hands all evening," he wrote. "Based upon my personal observation there was definitely something going on between them and it was a mutual thing."

Mark Filippell of Shaker Heights, Ohio, said he had dinner with Brainard and Pauley in Ohio in March 2016 when she was looking for a venue for her daughter's wedding. Filippell said Pauley told him that she invited Brainard "to accompany her on the drive." He also said Pauley kept talking about taking Brainard to a winery on the way back.

"Based on what I saw back in 2016, Christine seemed to be having a great time and welcomed the opportunity to spend time with you,"  Filippell wrote.

But during a press conference Thursday afternoon, Pauley, 58, told reporters that in December 2015, the mayor placed his hand on her backside and kissed her following a Christmas party they both attended at a Carmel resident’s home. The alleged incident occurred after she was elected but before she took office. As she was leaving the party, he insisted on walking her to her car because it was slippery out, she said.

Before she got into her car, she turned around to thank him, and he “grabbed my backside, my bottom, and forcibly kissed me,” she said.

Pauley said she told Brainard, “No. This can’t be happening” before getting in her car and driving away. Pauley told reporters that after the encounter she told four or five friends about it.

In a text message to IBJ on Friday, Pauley said the letters from Brainard's supporters "don't explain his emails," including an advertisement from an adult novelty store he forwarded to her. She later sent a separate statement.

"The latest allegations from Mayor Brainard are just more of his fantasy," she said in the statement. "I am sure he would like to believe that we were dating, but fantasy is not reality. He can bring out as many of his supporters as he wants to stand up for him. Why won't the mayor come out and speak to the media himself and address these questions as I have? Does he think sending the emails about trips and sex toys is acceptable behavior?"

Pauley on Thursday told reporters she didn’t come forward sooner about Brainard's alleged behavior because, at the time, she thought it would be a “one-time thing.” She said she was trying to be cooperative with the mayor’s office following a few years of infighting between Brainard and the previous clerk-treasurer.

Instead, she said she tried to “stay in my lane” and do the job Carmel residents elected her to do. She’s been walking on eggshells ever since, she said.

Now, as her term comes to a close, she said the time was right to come forward.

“There’s no retribution,” she said. “I’m not running for office. I have chosen to walk away from being a public servant.”

She said Carmel residents should “know who they are electing” before the May 7 primary.

Brainard, who is running for a seventh term, is in a heated primary contest with Hamilton County Councilor Fred Glynn.