Commissioner Emily Clouse tried to get herself reinstated Monday. Here’s what happened
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Commissioner Clouse investigation and fallout
Thurston County’s commission removed Emily Clouse from her appointed advisory boards and commissions on Aug. 13, 2024, after receiving a sexual harassment complaint from her executive aide.
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Thurston County Commissioner Emily Clouse tried and failed to get herself reinstated to her external board and committee appointments on Monday.
In a 2-3 vote, a majority of the Board of County Commissioners shot down Clouse’s motion to end her suspension. Commissioners Wayne Fournier, Carolina Mejia and Gary Edwards voted to suspend Clouse on Aug. 13, and with Monday’s vote, the three have now voted against Clouse’s reinstatement twice.
Commissioner Tye Menser, who made a failed motion to reinstate Clouse on Sept. 3, was again the only commissioner to side with Clouse on Monday.
The commission promised on Sept. 6 to release a final report about the investigation into Clouse’s behavior.
Before making the motion, Clouse said Wednesday will mark 100 days since the investigation into her workplace dating relationship began.
“I have cooperated fully with the process, and the extended timeline has caused unnecessary delays and disruptions to county operations,” Clouse said. “The final written report has been pending for a number of weeks, yet there has been no update on its release.”
Clouse is still a voting member on the Board of County Commissioners, the body she was elected to, but she cannot represent the county on several regional boards and committees she was appointed to.
“The investigation has already taken far too long, and the lack of resolution is creating confusion among our partners and impacting the county’s ability to function efficiently,” Clouse said.
County Manager Leonard Hernandez told the commission that the Human Resources department should be finishing a draft written report in the next few days. He said the commission should expect to discuss details during a closed-door executive session next month.
Clouse made a point to say her seatmates have not consistently attended the outside board and committee meetings she was previously on.
“I’ve written down all the dates and folks who have been absent or present during those meetings,” Clouse said. “This has limited the county’s ability to fully participate in critical decision-making processes.”
Prior to making the motion for reinstatement, Clouse asked Fournier to clarify her suspension. This question was prompted, she said, by Mejia advising her to not ask questions during the last Regional Housing Council meeting.
“To be frank, the intention was to limit liability of the county since there was a lot that was unknown at that time and then also free up the commissioner to be able to deal with any ongoing investigation,” Fournier said.
Fournier told Clouse she’s free to attend any public meetings and participate as a citizen in accordance with their rules for public comment. Mejia agreed.
Commissioners clash on advice, allegations
Edwards said the county’s attorneys have advised the commission to avoid discussing Clouse’s suspension. He said the commission is in a “very uncomfortable situation.”
“The public should know that we don’t enjoy this,” Edwards said. “I’m sure none of the parties involved enjoy this, but we’re working within certain guidelines at the request of counsel to stay clear of this topic.”
Menser, who’s an attorney, later accused Edwards of not following advice from legal counsel when he voted to suspend Clouse.
“If we were going along with counsel, Commissioner Edwards, then there wouldn’t be this issue at all because you would have followed counsel’s advice not to impose this motion,” Menser said.
Mejia then interjected to challenge Menser’s characterization of what they heard from legal counsel behind closed doors.
“It was actually not advised,” Mejia said. “I will push back on that.”
“Well, I will push back on the notion that Commissioner Edwards has been following the advice of counsel all through this process because he has not,” Menser said. “Nor have you, frankly.”
Menser said on Sept. 3 that the “inflammatory allegations” that prompted the motion to suspend Clouse appeared unsubstantiated.
Fournier said on Monday that he agreed with that statement, but he added not all the allegations were unsubstantiated. He went on to describe the “most egregious allegations” in vague terms.
“I would say that the most egregious allegations were ones of criminal nature that I heard made by Commissioner Clouse herself against the subordinate that no longer works for us,” Fournier said. “And those criminal allegations seem to be unsubstantiated.”
Fournier said his biggest concerns are with what Clouse herself admitted to. He said he would not speak any further about the situation or reconsider Clouse’s suspension until after a written report is finalized.
Clouse then questioned why Fournier decided to talk about criminal allegations.
“I think it’s interesting, Commissioner Fournier, that you bring up any criminal allegations that may have been made against the complainant,” Clouse said. “I believe any of those allegations of that nature would have had to be made in executive session. So, do you care to elaborate on the basis for bringing that up in a public meeting?”
“You just said that they were made in executive session, so I’m not going to talk about it,” Fournier said.
The allegations against Clouse
A county employee has accused Clouse of sexual harassment and retaliation, according to Sept. 5 letter from attorneys representing the employee.
The Olympian obtained a copy of the letter. Edward Earl Younglove III and Lisa M. Wood of Younglove, Corker and Rhode, an Olympia based law firm, signed the letter and addressed it to Thurston County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jane Futterman.
The lawyers accused Clouse of engaging in a pattern of abusive, unwelcome and sexual behavior against the employee and firing him about 30 minutes after he reported the alleged conduct to the county’s human resources department on July 26.
“The power imbalance between Commissioner Clouse and her aid enabled her to extract (the employee’s) ‘consent’ to her unwelcome conduct and advances,” the letter says.
The lawyers allege Clouse created a hostile work environment and her conduct qualifies as “quid pro quo sexual harassment.”
Hostile work environment and quid pro quo are the two types of sexual harassment that are legally recognized under Washington State Law Against Discrimination (RCW 49.60).
The letter says Clouse retaliated against the employee by attempting to fire him and she accused him of sexually assaulting her, “which was later determined to be unfounded.”
“A few days later, on July 29, 2024, during a conversation with ranking County officials, (the employee) was asked what amount of money it would take for him to keep quiet about his allegations of harassment by Commissioner Clouse,” the letter says.
The employee was placed on administrative leave, according to the letter, making him the “object of conjecture he had engaged in some wrongdoing.”
The letter put the county on notice that the employee has hired attorneys who are prepared to discuss a “reasonable resolution” to his claims. If that’s not possible, the letter says the attorneys intend to file a claim of damages and a lawsuit if necessary.
Younglove filed a claim for damages form with the county’s human resources department on Sept. 25. The Olympian obtained a copy of the form, which summarizes the allegations in the Sept. 5 letter and posits a sizable claim.
“The monetary damages assessment is still ongoing, but for the purposes for this claim, damages are evaluated at $750,000,” the form reads.
Maia Robbins, Clouse’s attorney, previously downplayed the allegations in the Sept. 5 letter. She alluded to Menser’s Sept. 3 comments about “inflammatory” allegations being unsubstantiated in her response.
“This attorney’s letter, sent two days later, does not turn those claims into fact,” Robbins said. “It is simply leveraging untruthful allegations to capitalize on Thurston County taxpayers.”
This story was originally published November 19, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
