The councilman denies making any comments to the employee about layoffs, about his connection with powerful or influential individuals or about being able to get her husband fired with just "one phone call." He does not deny texting her the evening of Oct. 23 but he claims no memory of the specific content of the messages because he was under the influence of Ambien, a sedative prescribed to him to treat sleep apnea.The Ambien defense?
Rioux said he did research on the side effects of the drug and found on WebMD.com that people using Ambien have "sleepwalked, prepared/eaten food, made phone calls, or had sex while not fully awake."
The same site also notes that such side effects of Ambien are rare.
"I'm not making an excuse. It's just the truth. That explains everything," Rioux said during a recent interview with The Republic. "I blame the whole thing on Ambien."
He apparently didn't mention the sedative when he met with Mayor Jackie Meck and Town Manager Stephen Cleveland about the incident. Instead, he told them that he has a "helping personality" and that the employee may have misconstrued his efforts.
His attempt at an explanation strains credulity.
Rioux says he doesn't remember the nature of the text messages or how they got deleted from his phone. But he remembers his last message to the employee was "never mind," figuring he could "explain the rest to her later." He also remembers telling his wife, Candi, on Oct. 25 that he "made a mistake."
If he has no memory of the exchange, what was he going to explain later? What was the mistake he made?
Rioux said employees often go to him for help with food, housing and other resources. This employee sought him out for help, he said. And he offered the use of his hot tub only because she was going through a stressful situation.
His wife told The Republic that she was aware of his invitation to use the hot tub and that it was on a night that neither of them would be home.
Even if the Ambien caused Rioux to send inappropriate texts the evening of Oct. 23 when he said he took his last pill, it doesn't explain those sent throughout that weekend.
On Oct. 24, after the employee reported the incident to Assistant Town Manager Jeanine Guy, Rioux continued sending text messages. Guy wrote in her report that the employee "was crying, at points just sobbing, telling me that she had been having conversations with the councilperson, that she was very uncomfortable with the situation and didn't know what to do."
Guy asked the employee if she had asked Rioux to stop calling her. The employee said, "No, I am afraid for my job."
Guy said the employee told her she "felt vulnerable" and considered resigning. She "asked me if 'they' should respond to Councilman Rioux's texts." Guy told her she wasn't going to give her advice; her responsibility was to ensure a safe and comfortable work environment.
The employee continued her exchange with Rioux to give him opportunity to clarify his intentions. She asked him things like, "What did you mean?" and "Did I misread your text?" and "What are you interested in?"
Each time, Rioux followed up with a text that confirmed his interest.
"So a 3-some?" he wrote about 1:40 p.m. on Oct. 24. That's a day after he told The Republic he had stopped texting the employee and realized he had acted inappropriately.
"No. Are you into that? What did you mean? Did I misread your text?" she replied.
"No. I'm very interested. Are you?" Rioux wrote.
She told him that her marriage was over but reminded him he was married. Then she asked again, "Am I reading you wrong?"
He told her he needed to be very careful. She asked him what he was interested in.
"If you're asking me if I have feelings for you, yes, very much. Not just sex. I care about you," he wrote about 2:20 p.m. She reminded him again that he was married. He wrote that his wife didn't care as long as she didn't know.
The following day, he wrote: "Sorry. I was tipsy yesterday. Sorry if I was bad."
On the morning of Oct. 26, just before the employee filed her complaint, Rioux sent her another text. He wrote that he went to Fry's and gotten a job for her son.
Was Rioux trying to fix days of inappropriate text messages by saying he just wanted to be friends and dangling before her a job for her son?
During his years on the council, Rioux has been outspoken about the misbehavior of town officials. He is not above the same scrutiny. He needs to live up to the same high standards and demonstrate the same professional conduct the public expects of all their elected officials.
Wednesday is the deadline for submitting signatures to run for City Council. It's a good day for Buckeye residents to begin considering what qualities they want in their leaders.
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