Two weeks before Multnomah County’s community health center leader resigned in March after less than a year in the role, the leader sent an employee a selfie of himself touching his finger to his mouth with the message, “You look finger lickin good,” a human resources director said.
The text was allegedly sent by Darnell “DJ” Rhodes, and a description of its content was released to The Oregonian/OregonLive in a public records request after Rhodes resigned from his $273,000-per-year job on March 21.
His resignation came after a tumultuous year leading the county’s eight primary care health centers, seven dental clinics, seven pharmacies and nine student health centers. At the time of his hiring in April 2023, county officials hailed Rhodes as a “proven leader and strategic thinker.”
Last October, county officials put Rhodes on paid administrative leave. It is unclear why. County spokesperson Julie Sullivan-Springhetti on Thursday said Rhodes had been named in a earlier complaint, but she cited a provision of Oregon public records law that allows agencies to withhold documentation of any complaint that results in employee discipline.
In November, Rhodes penned an open letter to the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners and the chairperson of the Community Health Center Board that oversaw Rhodes’ work. In it, he said he was subjected to racial discrimination on the job and that certain county policies were unequally applied to employees of color. He also cited “a few employees who resented my appointment and were actively working against me.”
“My hope is by bringing my concerns to you is that we can have a real discussion about the greater issue at hand — the consistent and repeated discriminatory practices of Multnomah County against Black/African-American employees,” Rhodes wrote.
He returned to work in January.
On March 8, Steven Sutton, human resources director for the county health department, made a report to county officials that he had heard second-hand about the text message and selfie Rhodes had appeared to send from his office.
The unidentified recipient of the text “set boundaries with DJ when she received the text,” his report said. “Since that time she alleges that DJ has not looked at her or spoken to her,” it said.
The HR intake form also claimed that the woman reported the behavior to her supervisor, who did not “escalate or report the allegation.”
Thirteen days after Sutton made the report, Rhodes submitted his resignation, citing his need to prioritize his health. He declined to comment.
— Austin De Dios covers Multnomah County politics, programs and more. Reach him at 503-319-9744, adedios@oregonian.com or @AustinDeDios.
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