Former mayor’s aide still fighting 2012 dismissal

LYNN – Former mayoral aide Gardy Jean-Francois appears poised to hit the city with a second complaint, this time alleging political discrimination over what he calls his unlawful dismissal from the Mayor’s office in 2012.Attorney Marsha Kazarosian, who said she could not comment on the issue at this time, has sent the city a letter advising officials that her client, Jean-Francois, is seeking a settlement of $250,000. According to the letter the city has six months to respond or she will “file any and all appropriate actions” on Jean-Francois’ behalf.City attorney George Markopoulos said the letter is essentially a prerequisite for filing a lawsuit under state law Chapter 258.”A requirement of 258 is a demand letter,” he said. “It requires a demand letter prior to the institution of a lawsuit. You can’t just file a complaint without warning.”The letter states that Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy’s dismissal of Jean-Francois as her aide was politically motivated because he had launched a run for state representative against a personal friend of Kennedy’s.”Gardy’s political affiliation was the motivating factor behind his termination by Kennedy and Lynn,” reads the letter. It goes on to state that Kennedy, who is a Republican, knew she and Jean-Francois had opposing political affiliations and she “immediately took an adverse employment action against him by terminating him and even told him that she would do so, because of his political aspirations and affiliations.”Kazarosian also noted that the action violated Jean-Francois’ and denied him equal protection.This is not the first legal action Jean-Francois has taken stemming from the loss of his job.In 2012 Jean-Francois filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination alleging he was dismissed based on race, color and his decision to run for state representative. In February, MCAD ruled there was a lack of probable cause and dismissed the claim. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission followed suit and adopted the same findings.Markopoulos said it is Jean-Francois’s right to file the new lawsuit but he stands by the city’s initial argument that Kennedy did not discriminate and was well within her right to let Jean-Francois go.In the initial complaint, Kennedy noted that Jean-Francois’s contract allowed her to terminate him with a seven-day notice at any time. She also said she was concerned that his candidacy would blur the lines between his job and his campaign.”The state says a municipality has six months to respond and only after that time can he proceed to file in court,” Markopoulos said. “We’ll see what happens.”