Why did Thurston board suspend Commissioner Clouse? Her attorney offers some answers

Thurston County has contracted with a third-party consultant to investigate a dating relationship between Commissioner Emily Clouse and a “colleague at work,” according to Clouse’s attorney.

In a statement to The Olympian, attorney Maia Robbins, who is representing Clouse, described the dating relationship as “brief” and said the investigation is “not criminal in nature.” She said both the dating relationship and the employment relationship “recently ended.”

“The County has chosen to investigate that relationship out of an abundance of caution,” Robbins said. “She is cooperating fully with the investigation, and looks forward to its conclusion, which will reveal nothing more interesting than someone dating their coworker: something that happens every day in America’s workplaces.”

Clouse said she could not speak about the ongoing investigation and directed The Olympian to contact Robbins.

This explanation brings some light to what prompted the Board of County Commissioners to temporarily remove Clouse from her appointed advisory boards and commissions until the investigation is completed. That decision immediately followed a 35-minute close-door executive session by the County Board on Tuesday.

“The Board’s decision to remove Commissioner Clouse from her external boards pending the outcome of the investigation is a regrettable exercise in overkill and not warranted by the actual circumstances of the relationship,” Robbins said.

“She looks forward to rejoining her boards and commissions as soon as possible, and continuing to do the work that earned her the support of 60% of the electorate in the last election.”

In response to questions, Meghan Porter, a spokesperson for the county, confirmed the investigation involves Clouse, but declined to elaborate on the nature of the investigation.

She said the ongoing investigation was prompted by a complaint, although she declined to say who made it or what was alleged.

The county commission decided to conduct the investigation on July 30, Porter said, and the county contracted an “independent, licensed workplace investigator and workplace consultant” to complete it.

The results of the investigation will be released publicly, Porter confirmed, but the duration of the investigation is still unknown.

Clouse’s suspension does not affect her ability to attend regular board meetings and work sessions with the rest of the commissioners, according to Porter.

Commissioners Carolina Mejia, Wayne Fournier and Gary Edwards voted to temporarily suspend Clouse. Commissioner Tye Menser was notably absent from the executive session on Tuesday.

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.”

Porter clarified that the complaint being investigated does not involve Menser.

“He chose not to participate in the executive session based purely on process-related advice given to the Board by the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office,” Porter said.

This story was originally published August 15, 2024 at 1:46 PM.

Martín Bilbao

The Olympian

(360) 715-2209

Martín Bilbao reports on Thurston County government, courts and breaking news. He joined The Olympian in November 2020 and previously worked for The Bellingham Herald and Daily Bruin. He was born in Ecuador and grew up in California. Support my work with a digital subscription