Oregon legislators defer vote on hostile workplace complaint against Kotek – Oregon Capital Chronicle

An Oregon legislative committee declined to rule Wednesday on whether or not Democratic nominee for governor Tina Kotek created a hostile work atmosphere when she was speaker of the Oregon Home.

An unbiased investigation into allegations that Kotek threatened and bullied former state Rep. Diego Hernandez discovered inadequate proof. Wednesday’s listening to of the Home Conduct Committee was supposed to listen to testimony from Hernandez and witnesses and resolve whether or not to simply accept the report’s findings. Legislators postponed the choice to an unscheduled future assembly, saying they didn’t have sufficient time.

Hernandez, additionally a Democrat, alleged that Kotek threatened his private livelihood, profession and payments as a result of he didn’t vote along with her on 2019 laws slicing worker advantages.

Melissa Healy, an legal professional with Portland-based Stoel Rives employed to conduct the investigation, discovered that Hernandez’s account was in all probability proper – however that it didn’t imply Kotek broke legislative guidelines. 

“This type of dialog might be inappropriate in one other office, however that is the Legislature and it’s not a traditional office,” Healy stated.

Hernandez instructed the committee that Healy’s conclusion units a harmful precedent – that it’s OK for individuals to really feel unsafe, bullied, afraid and managed at work as a result of they work in politics. 

“The investigator with this report is making an attempt to normalize as a part of the legislative office tradition that management is allowed to make use of bullying threats, intimidation, yelling, outbursts and rage so as to get you to adapt to her rule as a result of the principles that they wrote for themselves give them that energy,” he stated. 

The assembly was held the day county clerks started mailing ballots to voters, who will resolve over the subsequent three weeks whether or not to elect Kotek to the state’s prime job. Her Republican opponent, Christine Drazan, has featured headlines in regards to the grievance in marketing campaign adverts. 

Committee members heard from Hernandez and three witnesses on his behalf: two former state representatives and a present state senator. Kotek didn’t communicate to the committee, however she despatched an e mail to committee chairs in early October asking it to affirm the investigator’s findings. 

“This report is lengthy overdue, however I’m happy by the clear conclusion that these had been baseless accusations,” Kotek wrote.

She urged lawmakers to think about reforms to forestall legislators from politicizing the grievance course of. Hernandez filed his grievance in January 2021, 20 months after that vote. When he filed the grievance, an investigator wanting into a number of allegations of sexual misconduct towards Hernandez had simply concluded that Hernandez created a hostile work atmosphere for girls. 

“His grievance towards me was a blatant try to distract individuals from his personal dangerous conduct, and it undermines the true aim of the Conduct Committee, which is to make the Capitol a secure and welcoming place for everybody to work,” Kotek wrote. 

‘Bodily signs of ache’

An emotional Hernandez instructed the committee that stress from working underneath Kotek took a toll on his physique. He stated he was rushed to the hospital with gallstones he attributes to his stress, and he has been recognized with advanced post-traumatic stress dysfunction, an anxiousness dysfunction that stems from repeated trauma. 

“I had bodily signs of ache, sweating and nausea,” he stated. “I had panic assaults and anxiousness, I had issue concentrating on each day duties. I felt emotionally numb, like I used to be free falling. I wasn’t sleeping. I had bother sustaining private relationships, and it was arduous to have a look at the longer term and see hope for me.”

He tried suicide over the summer season, Willamette Week reported, and Healy didn’t end her report till every week after Hernandez instructed her of that try. Former state Rep. Brian Clem, who spoke to the committee on Hernandez’s behalf, confirmed the try. 

Hernandez additionally submitted written testimony, together with screenshots of texts and emails. He requested that it’s shared with the general public, however legislative employees declined to put up it, saying redactions could also be wanted. 

Clem, a Democrat who represented Salem till December 2021, instructed legislators he was nervous to speak to them. He video-called in from South Korea, the place he stated he’s engaged on a mission that would convey a whole bunch of jobs to Oregon –  if the state’s subsequent governor approves permits.

Clem advocated for ending the investigation properly earlier than the upcoming election. He stated he didn’t like Hernandez after they began working collectively, however they labored intently and he witnessed Hernandez battling melancholy. Clem additionally urged one of many girls who alleged inappropriate conduct by Hernandez to report that conduct, and he stated buddies have to carry one another accountable. 

He instructed legislators that they need to have the ability to vote as they really feel is correct for his or her constituents with out retaliation.

“The notion that the Legislature isn’t an everyday office for legislators just isn’t OK,” he stated. “You might be people too. You deserve the protections.”

Matt Wand, a former Republican legislator who served one time period from 2011-13, instructed the committee he has identified Hernandez since Hernandez was a youngster. The 2 had a falling-out over political variations years in the past, and Wand acquired again in contact after studying about Hernandez within the newspaper, he stated. 

Wand stated Kotek crossed a line by threatening Hernandez’s profession. Legislators can horse-trade over payments, Wand stated, however they shouldn’t threaten one another’s private lives. 

“The Home underneath Speaker Kotek’s management was damaged,” Wand stated. “It was poisonous. And all people knew it.” 

Sen. Dallas Heard, R-Roseburg, stated he and Hernandez couldn’t be extra completely different on paper: Hernandez is Latino, from city Portland and has been known as far-left; Heard is a white man from rural Oregon and has been known as far-right. However they grew to become buddies, and Heard stated he was shocked when he walked in on Kotek berating Hernandez. 

“I noticed my former colleague, Consultant Diego Hernandez, go from being a spirited, loving, great champion for the little individuals, the underrepresented, the political minority,  to nonetheless being a loving, caring good particular person however somebody who may be very damaged, and I can share in a whole lot of the identical anxieties,” Heard stated. 

And in a letter to the committee, state Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Clackamas, expressed dismay that data from her interviews with investigators weren’t included within the remaining report. 

“If for some purpose that data was misplaced or omitted, I really feel comfy asserting that our system has failed us,” Bynum wrote. “We’ve got failed in our aspirations to create a productive lawmaking atmosphere centered on democracy and inclusion.”

She stated she was most troubled by the lengthy delay: legislative guidelines say investigations needs to be accomplished inside 84 days, whereas Hernandez has been ready almost two years. Healy attributed these delays to witness availability, saying that at instances it felt like individuals weren’t considering talking along with her. 

Rep. Raquel Moore-Inexperienced, R-Salem and the committee’s performing co-chair, questioned whether or not Healy or Stoel Rives had any conflicts of curiosity with Kotek. Stoel Rives made $2,500 to all three candidates within the governor’s race.