Port worker says Zita’s behavior was unacceptable. Zita says investigation fits pattern
After a year of what a Port of Olympia employee says was a “pattern of disturbing and unacceptable behavior” by Commissioner E.J. Zita, the employee outlined those concerns in a letter to Commissioner Joe Downing earlier this year.
The letter triggered an investigation, which led to a policy change at the port, and also a commission discussion that made public the employee’s accusation of sexual harassment.
Zita has her own concerns about “port patterns,” saying her efforts to shake up the status quo at the port have been met with hostility. Zita was first elected to the commission in 2015.
It’s a “pattern of hostility I’ve been living with for five years,” she told an investigator.
The port paid $17,000 to investigate the employee claims, which finally resulted in an August commission vote in favor of expanding the Port’s employee anti-harassment/discrimination policy to include the three-member commission of Zita, Downing and Bill McGregor.
During the August meeting, Commissioner Zita made the motion to approve the new policy, known internally as “Policy 104,” which she supports, but then she voted against it. She later explained her mistake and confusion on Facebook.
“It was not clear to (me) at that time that this meant Policy 104 — because a different title was used, because of the delay after (the) motion to approve, and because (I) was somewhat stunned by a personal attack that was not on the agenda,” the post reads.
The “personal attack” was the public allegation of sexual harassment. The Olympian reported the events of that meeting, plus a subsequent meeting in which Zita received support from some residents. The original complaint and the investigation are public documents, so The Olympian requested them, wanting to learn more about what has transpired over the past year.
The employee who made the allegations declined to speak to The Olympian. Commissioner Zita defended herself, saying she has tried to hold the port to a higher standard on its finances, and to ensure the port has adequate information to make decisions, and then is attacked for it.
“This is part of the pattern,” she said. “I never thought they would go this low.”
The complaint
In the letter to Commissioner Downing, the employee, who was hired by the port in January 2019, was invited to attend a Thurston County Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Zita approached, embraced and intertwined her arm with the employee and introduced the worker to other community leaders.
“Throughout the time she engaged in various actions such as putting her arm around my waist, stroking her hand up and down my back and stroking my shoulders,” the employee writes.
The employee listed other incidents:
▪ The employee writes of success at establishing personal space boundaries with Zita, although there were instances of unwanted hugs. “Another instance of unwanted touch included her reaching out and touching my face to correct makeup.”
▪ The employee also had disagreements with Zita, in which Zita allegedly accused the employee of “micro-managing.” The employee offered to explain, but Zita allegedly said, “No. I want you to not speak. Your job is to listen and to do as I tell you.” Later, Zita also allegedly accused the employee of being “just another port insider” and that she could not count on the employee.
▪ Some incidents did not directly involve the employee. On two occasions — during a multi-day field trip and a staff holiday party — other port employees shared stories about unwelcome touch and what they felt were inappropriate remarks made by Zita.
The information from the employee resulted in a discussion between the port’s attorney for personnel matters, Beth McIntyre, and Zita. The attorney reported it went well and that Zita would be “mindful in the future to monitor her contacts so as to create and maintain a wholly professional distance when interacting with port employees.”
However, the employee was discouraged to then receive messages from Zita via Facebook Messenger, which linked to an article on love and relationships, including images of women who appear to be models. It spelled out characteristics of an “alpha woman.”
In the letter to Commissioner Downing, the employee writes: “It may be that Commissioner Zita is attempting to reinforce that she is an ‘alpha woman,’ who is dominant in the work relationship. This puts her demeanor and remarks from earlier meetings in a troubling context.”
Zita told The Olympian that when she heard from the attorney, she thought it was for an unrelated matter, then was “shocked” to learn of the allegations. As for the messages, she described them as a “friendly acknowledgment of strong women.”
“I say simply that I do not engage in sexual harassment or improper touching,” Zita said.
The investigation
In spring 2020, the port hired private investigator Daphne Schneider of Seattle to look into the allegations. According to a summary of her findings, it focused only on allegations of sexual harassment. She interviewed the employee who made the original complaint, other witnesses (port staff) and Zita, who participated in a 90-minute interview, but declined to comment after that.
Comparing the original complaint and investigation side by side, the investigation is broader than the employee allegations of 2019.
For instance, an incident from 2017 is investigated. A witness claimed that during a port Citizens Advisory Committee meeting, Zita allegedly put her hand on the witness’s leg, rubbed it and “cupped” the knee. Although the witness reported it to a colleague and HR, the witness declined to make a formal complaint.
Zita told the investigator that would have been “very out of character” for her to do.
Zita told The Olympian she is working on a formal response to the investigation, calling it incomplete, irregular and largely inaccurate.
For example, Zita said she sometimes hugs friends and has given shoulder massages in the past, but the investigator concluded that “she does these things and did them at the port.”
“That distinction is lost,” Zita said.
The investigator found that “more likely than not Zita inappropriately touched and communicated with port employees as described” in the allegations.
“Clearly, the answer is that none of these behaviors would be acceptable from a male commissioner, and should therefore not be acceptable from a female commissioner,” the investigator writes.
Zita defended herself to the investigator, saying “she believes this investigation is politically motivated, that she is very supportive of women in leadership, that she never sexually harasses anyone, and that she has a very clear sense of boundaries.”
The employee who made the original complaint acknowledges that difficulty communicating with someone at work or communication about job performance does not necessarily constitute harassment.
“I think it goes without saying that I can’t effectively do my job if I am not allowed to professionally present the analysis and recommendations expected of me, nor if the tone of my working relationship is somehow dependent on my allowing unwelcome touch,” the employee writes.
This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
