Division, profanity surfaces among Polk County Supervisors

Polk County Supervisor's Chairperson Angela Connolly was recorded whispering in disgust to Supervisor Matt McCoy's opposition Tuesday to several board appointments.

• "Why is he such an a**hole?" Connolly asked under her breath during the public meeting.

Driving the news: McCoy on Tuesday opposed the appointment of John Mauro — the former supervisor he bested in the 2018 Democratic primary — to the Prairie Meadows board.

• He also opposed allowing a former public works employee who recently took an Alford plea on a drug charge to return to work for the county.
• Both appointments were successful.

Yes, and: Connolly told Axios after the meeting that her profanity slipped out due to frustration with McCoy's grandstanding.

Why it matters: The name-calling could be reflective of a large and potentially costly problem.

• Polk County supervisors are accused in multiple ongoing lawsuits of participating in a hostile work environment that includes verbal abuse and threats.

Catch up fast: Polk County's former HR director Jim Nahas alleges in a lawsuit naming each of the supervisors, excluding McCoy, that he was wrongfully terminated last year.

• Nahas accuses the four supervisors of extortion and years of misconduct and cover-ups that include regularly yelling profanities and sexually demoralizing language at coworkers.

Zoom in: Nahas was fired over his handling of a sexual harassment allegation against McCoy by county spokesperson Sarah Boese.

• Boese, who still works for the supervisors, alleges in a separate lawsuit that McCoy made a crass threat against her — which the supervisor denies.