A House workplace drama revealed
Plus new polling on the governor's race and the ballot initiatives, and some recommended reading
What was once a rumor percolating in Olympia about one representative’s unpleasant relationships with staff has been substantiated in a report by the Chief Clerk of the House Thursday.
The report concerns a string of incidents from this past session involving Rep. Melanie Morgan and her now-former legislative assistant, as documented in an absorbing 55-page report by Sound Workplace Investigations.1 The long and the short of it is that the Pierce County Democrat isn’t a great boss and, allegedly, abused and belittled staff to an extent that may have broken the House’s Respectful Workplace Policy.
While lawmakers aren’t their legislative assistants' actual employers, they act as de facto taskmasters who assign the work and wield all the power as supervisors. As elected officials, lawmakers also sit on a high pedestal only the voters can toss them off.
The report lobs 21 allegations against Morgan about her exchanges with a first-time LA over six weeks. Multiple witnesses claimed Morgan made a habit of dissing staffers in her orbit, from yelling profanities to calling up a staffer’s cousin to complain about their work. People in the know tell us Morgan’s belittling behavior happened behind closed doors for longer than just six weeks, but the report is the first time the stories were corroborated.
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