Questions remain about Thurston County Commissioner Emily Clouse’s “judgment and conduct” after a workplace investigation ruled out some accusations, her four seatmates said on Friday.
The Board of County Commissioners made the remarks in a new statement issued Friday about the investigation into a workplace relationship between Clouse and a county employee.
“The Board appreciates the patience of the public and staff as it works through what has become a very distracting situation,” the board said in the statement signed by Commissioners Tye Menser, Wayne Fournier, Carolina Mejia and Gary Edwards.
This united message came after a Tuesday meeting where Menser unsuccessfully tried to get the County Board to reinstate Clouse to her appointed boards and commissions. Menser, who chairs the board, said “inflammatory” allegations against Clouse had been unsubstantiated by a contracted, third-party investigator and it was “unconscionable” to preclude Clouse from doing her full job.
Maia Robbins, Clouse’s attorney, issued a statement in response to that discussion where she accused three commissioners of “anti-democratic,” political machinations.
“Commissioners Fournier, Mejia, and Edwards refused to take the advice of their attorneys and are deliberately ignoring the results of that investigation to further their own political agendas,” Robbins said.
Robbins also said Clouse may pursue legal action against her seatmates if they continue to prevent her from doing the job she was elected to do.
“While this is not a step Commissioner Clouse would take lightly, she will not be unjustly sidelined from her duties by less progressive voices on the Commission,” Robbins said.
Fournier, Mejia and Edwards voted to suspend Clouse on Aug. 13 amid the investigation into Clouse. The board heard a preliminary verbal report on the results of the investigation during a close-door meeting on Aug. 29.
In their Friday statement, the four commissioners said they acted quickly to hire a third-party investigator to examine “extremely concerning” accusations against Clouse.
They described the complaint as “unique and evolving” and elaborated on the status of the investigation.
“The initial verbal report from the investigator ruled out some aspects of these accusations; however, there remain questions from the Board about Commissioner Clouse’s judgment and conduct as it relates to the details of the situation,” the commissioners said.
Menser did not attend the Aug. 13 meeting where the board voted to suspend Clouse, citing legal advice against it, and has said he would not have voted to suspend Clouse at that juncture, The Olympian previously reported.
Though he has supported the investigation, Menser has been at odds with his seatmates about Clouse’s suspension. Fournier, Mejia and Edwards said they respected Menser’s position and elaborated on their reasoning for suspending Clouse in the Friday statement.
The commissioners said they voted to suspend Clouse to communicate that she is not representing the board on external advisory boards and commissions until this matter is resolved.
“The assignments to external advisory boards and commissions are within the Board’s purview to appoint or retract,” the commissioners said. “Commissioner Clouse has not been restricted from attending her external boards and commissions and continues to do so.”
The commissioners also clarified that Clouse is still a full voting member of the board and still participates in county business and scheduled meetings.
“The Board’s desire and responsibility is to promote a safe and productive work environment for the hundreds of hardworking and dedicated staff that serve Thurston County residents each day,” the commissioner said. “It is the Board’s desire to continue that mission by protecting everyone involved in this situation.”
The board intends to resolve the matter as “constructively and quickly as possible” while factoring in “appropriate legal and procedural bounds” and protecting the county from “future liability,” the commissioners said.
The board has contracted Robin L. Nielsen, PLLC, a Seattle-based workplace investigator and consultant, to investigate Clouse, according to county spokesperson Meghan Porter. The cost of the county’s contract with Nielsen is not to exceed $10,000, she said.
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