City of Selma — Photo: Larry D. Moore — CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Selma Mayor Faces Lawsuit Alleging Harassment, Retaliation Over Whistleblower Identity
Former Selma city employee Mary Jane Venegas filed a lawsuit against Mayor Scott Robertson and the City of Selma, alleging gender discrimination, workplace harassment, and retaliation.
The complaint centers on a 2025 incident in which Venegas says Robertson and city attorney Neal Costanzo threatened her with legal action and job loss when she refused to reveal the identity of a whistleblower.
Venegas claims the city placed her on administrative leave in retaliation, then discharged her.
A city spokesperson stated Tuesday that Selma had not been formally served with the lawsuit as of that afternoon.
The Breakdown
- The lawsuit names both Mayor Robertson personally and the City of Selma as defendants
- Allegations include gender discrimination, workplace harassment, and retaliation
- The triggering incident: Venegas alleges Robertson and city attorney Costanzo threatened her when she refused to identify a whistleblower in 2025
- Claimed retaliation: administrative leave followed by discharge
- The city had not been formally served as of Tuesday
What This Means for You
This lawsuit presents voters with questions about Selma’s elected leadership. Robertson holds the city’s top elected office. The allegations describe conduct involving the Mayor and city staff — specifically, how they handled an employee who declined to identify a whistleblower.
The claim involves both the Mayor’s personal conduct and city operations under his watch.
What to Watch
The lawsuit raises a question: how does Selma respond when an employee refuses to reveal a whistleblower’s identity? Venegas alleges the response was threats and termination.
The city has not yet been formally served, which means no official response exists. When Selma does respond — through a legal filing, a public statement from the council or mayor, or the progression of the case itself — the response will show how the city addresses these allegations.
The lawsuit names both the mayor personally and the city as an institution. How the city separates or combines its defense of those two claims may reveal how much distance Selma’s governing structure maintains between the mayor’s personal conduct and the city’s institutional accountability.
