Opinion ID: 735703
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Ruth Provence

Text: 28 As an enforcement officer for the solid waste department during Gillem's administration, Provence sent letters to citizens who were not complying with the solid waste ordinance, answered garbage collection questions, arranged for the issuance of summonses to enforce compliance, and investigated dumping complaints. Provence was not rehired by Meade. Provence testified that she supported Gillem in the election, but the only evidence she offered of Meade's alleged retaliatory motive was that Meade had asked her husband for his vote since I know your wife works for the county. Provence's husband was known in the community to have been active in a different political party than was Meade; Provence's husband had previously run for county commissioner in a primary on the opposing party's ticket. After the election, when Meade told Provence that she was not going to be rehired, he said, Well, tell Paul [Provence's husband] I said hello. 29 Meade claimed that Provence was replaced by Willard Burton, a more qualified employee with more seniority in county employment though not in the same position that Provence had held. Burton was hired to perform combined road department and solid waste department duties, thereby saving the county money. The district court concluded that Provence failed to introduce evidence that could establish that Provence's political activities were a substantial or motivating factor in Meade's decision not to rehire her. We agree. Plaintiff has presented no evidence of politically-motivated hiring decisions; she has alleged only that she was not rehired. We affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment on Provence's claim.