Thurston County’s Board of Commissioners has removed Commissioner Emily Clouse from advisory boards and commissions after a closed-door meeting Tuesday.
Commissioners Wayne Fournier, Carolina Mejia and Gary Edwards voted to replace Clouse with alternates until an investigation can be completed.
The decision followed a 35-minute executive session, so details about what exactly prompted the investigation were not publicly discussed. The agenda for the meeting indicates the commission would “receive and evaluate complaints or charges brought against a public officer or employee.”
Fournier led the meeting in the absence of board chair Commissioner Tye Menser.
County Manager Leonard Hernandez told the board that Menser did not attend based on “input from our Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the recommendations about the process that was outlined in the last set of executive sessions.”
At the start of the meeting, Fournier asked Clouse if she objected to the executive session being held.
“So, we scheduled this as an executive session due to the sensitive nature of the topic,” Fournier said at the start of the meeting. “However, the county has been contacted by an attorney representing Commissioner Clouse, stating that there may be some desire not to hold the executive session.”
The agenda says a “public hearing or a meeting open to the public shall be conducted” at the request of the involved public officer or employee.
Clouse said she did object to the meeting being held, but she said she did not want the meeting to be moved into open session.
Clouse and Hernandez did not respond to a request from The Olympian for comment on the commission’s decision and the nature of the “complaint or charge.”
County spokesperson Meghan Porter told The Olympian that Hernandez directed her to respond in his stead. The Olympian is awaiting answers to several questions, including what was alleged in the “complaint or charge” and who is investigating the matter.
Though Clouse seemed to be the subject of the hearing, it was not explicitly stated who the “complaint or charge” is against or when or how it arose.
No timeline for the investigation was given during the meeting either. The Olympian has asked Porter to describe what comes next for the commission and Clouse.
Clouse’s official county biography indicates she has been representing the county on the following boards and committees.
- Animal Services
- Disability Board
- Emergency Food & Shelter Program
- Law and Justice Council
- ORCAA
- Regional Housing Council
- Thurston Climate Mitigation Collaborative Executive Committee
- Thurston-Mason Behavioral Health Administrative Services Organization
She is the vice chair of the Regional Housing Council and is a member of the Board of Health, according to her biography.
Clouse, a veteran with a human services background, won the District 5 seat in the November 2023 election as a Democrat. She was sworn in that same month.
She founded the non-profit CARE Olympia in 2021 to help justice-involved youth reintegrate into society.
The Washington Secretary of State Office lists Clouse as president of the non-profit. However, the website for the non-profit has been made private, rendering it inaccessible.
Clouse also has worked for the Department of Social and Health Services’ Office of Forensic Mental Health Services. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in Global Engagement from the University of Washington Tacoma.
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