Thurston County will not remove Roads Operations leadership despite worker complaints
READ MORE
Thurston County road worker concerns
Current and former Thurston County road workers publicly accused management of creating a toxic work environment and failing to address their concerns in 2025.
Expand All
Thurston County Public Works will not remove the leaders of its Roads Operations department despite numerous worker complaints.
That decision is made apparent in a July 7 memo summarizing the results of a third-party investigation into the Road Operations workplace environment. The county shared the memo in a frequently asked questions section of their Public Works website.
The memo, which is authored by Human Resources Director Maria Aponte, states employee concerns did not rise to a level that would warrant firing Roads Operations Manager Mike Lowman and Supervisor Nick Bemis.
This decision comes months after current road workers approved a vote of no-confidence in Lowman and Bemis, citing poor treatment, excessive turnover and more issues.
“While we take employee concerns seriously, employment decisions, particularly those involving disciplinary action or dismissal, must be based on a thorough and fair review of performance, conduct, alignment with department direction, and adherence to established county policies,” Aponte says in the memo.
“In assessing this situation, the issues raised center around change, management style, and communication rather than misconduct.”
The memo states both Lowman and Bemis were implementing changes approved by department leadership and have now received feedback from employees. Going forward, the memo says both have committed to adjusting how they approach and communicate workplace changes and improve workplace culture.
Aponte addressed the memo to County Manager Leonard Hernandez, Assistant County Manager Jennifer Walker and Public Works Director Karen Weiss.
The new memo follows a similar May 29 memo in which the county dismissed a racial discrimination claim against Lowman and Bemis by one employee, citing a lack of “sufficient evidence.”
D Diamond Consulting, a Seattle-based firm, handled the investigations detailed in both memos. The county agreed to pay the firm up to $12,000 for an investigation after multiple current and former road workers began publicly complaining about Roads Operations management earlier this year.
The county’s Roads Operations division is responsible for maintaining the safety and reliability of over 1,000 miles of roadway. The division is budgeted for 66 full-time-equivalent employees and there were 15 openings as of July.
What does the investigator’s report say
The Olympian reviewed a copy of the investigator’s report, which is dated May 27 and addressed to Aponte.
The investigator, Deborah Diamond, states she interviewed Lowman, Bemis and 18 Road Operations witnesses. Diamond also interviewed Walker, who served as Public Works director from October 2017 to January of this year.
Diamond did not fact-check every claim but made several determinations based on what the interview subjects said.
- 100% of witnesses described Bemis’ and Lowman’s management styles as “directive” and communication styles as “direct.”
- Bemis’ and Lowman’s management and communication styles are a factor in Roads Operations turnover and recruitment rates.
- Bemis’ and Lowman’s management and communication styles have led to “distrust and alienation.”
- Bemis’ and Lowman’s management and communication styles have not “facilitated buy-in” to the culture change they have tried to implement.
Diamond provided examples of what current workers said during interviews and former workers said in letters without identifying them.
One said Lowman came in “hard, heavy and fast” and made drastic changes. Others said he has glared at workers to intimidate them, talks over people, shoots down input, gets angry when questioned and doesn’t show empathy towards workers.
“Lowman’s style is iron-fist,” one person said. “‘My way or the highway.’”
One person said Bemis was direct, controlling and micromanaging. Another said he talks down to people and belittles employees.
“The workplace situation is on the verge of blowing up,” one person said. “It used to be safe, fun, and productive to work here. Now, with so many leaving, morale is horrible and there are more and more safety issues because understaffed/overworked.”
Additionally, the report states Diamond reviewed 26 exit interviews from Jan. 1, 2023, to Aug. 14, 2024, after which exit interviews were discontinued.
There were 18 largely negative exit interviews, 5 generally positive ones, and three neutral ones.
The primary complaints were about Bemis’ and Lowman’s management and communication styles, workers being shifted to different crews day to day, and it being difficult to develop skills and teamwork.
What did leaders say about allegations?
Lowman told Diamond that he has high standards and is driven by data and facts, according to the report.
“I would characterize my communication style as direct and open,” Lowman told Diamond. “I share information up and down. I do my best to explain the rationale for why the department is asking people to do things a certain way.”
He rejected the notion that he does not accept input, but recognized he’s been told he does come across as abrupt, short and harsh. When asked about allegations that people are leaving because of his management style, he said he has not seen exit interview data and offered general statements.
“I have learned that many people are leaving for a higher level of pay, a shorter commute, or work hours that are a better fit,” Lowman said. “However, I am not surprised that my management style has been a contributing factor for people who had been here a long time and chose to pursue other opportunities.”
He said there used to be a culture where workers were not given clear direction and he has made changes to deliver a “higher level of professionalism.” He said some people were not accustomed to being held accountable to the collective bargaining agreement, policies, procedures and industry standards.
“It may be positive if some of the long-time employees who do not like being held accountable and promote negativity leave and we get new people who will work to standards,” Lowman said.
Bemis told Diamond that he is aware that he sometimes comes across as abrupt, short and harsh, but he has been trying to work on that.
When asked about turnover, Bemis attributed it to a changing workplace culture, compensation, staff negativity and people leaving for different opportunities.
“Mr. Lowman and I have been trying to bring about a culture change in Road Operations since we took these roles,” Bemis told the investigator. “In the past, people went out and did good work [but] without much management oversight as to priorities and work practices. Now that we are holding everyone accountable to standards and policies … some people would rather leave than comply.”
Walker told Diamond she has noticed that Bemis and Lowman have direct management styles. However, she said Lowman has led by example and has adapted to be more collaborative.
“I have had conversations with Mr. Lowman about being more relatable to the field staff by engaging with them in brief, casual conversations at the beginning or end of the day, but as an introvert that can be challenging for him,” Walker said.
With respect to Bemis, Walker said he is focused on getting the job done and will revert to a “do-this style” when there is a lot of work to do with limited staff and time. Such has been the case for the past couple of years, she said.
“Mr. Bemis expects people to come to him with solutions, not just problems,” Walker said.
Walker said she brought in a consulting firm to conduct a 4-day workshop for Road Operations management and a half-day workshop with staff in 2022.
The goal of those workshops was to create a positive work environment while going through a cultural change.
“Mr. Lowman was fully engaged in the workshop exercises and specifically during the section on giving and receiving feedback, displaying vulnerability and modeling through his actions, and how to improve communications amongst his team,” Walker said.
Some workers have complained that it appeared Walker hand-picked Lowman to work at Thurston County because she knew him while they both previously worked in Pierce County.
When asked about this, Walker told Diamond that she interacted with him once in a meeting in Pierce County and she did not recall if she reached out to him directly about going to work in Thurston County as a Roads Operations Supervisor.
However, she said she did encourage him to apply for his current position as Roads Operations Division Manager.
Why was the Roads Division undergoing a culture change?
Aponte’s memo states the Roads Division had several work practices and performance issues that Walker sought to address when she became Public Works Director in 2017.
These issues reportedly included unsafe work practices, inappropriate use of county equipment, fraudulent reporting of hours worked, inadequate training opportunities, absence of procedures, lack of staff accountability, and siloed crews resulting in “inefficiencies and reduced service outcomes.”
The county hired Lowman in 2021 as a Roads Operations Supervisor and he was promoted to Manager in 2022. Meanwhile, Bemis had worked at Public Works since 2003 and was promoted to Supervisor in 2021.
The memo says Lowman and Bemis tried to implement changes to address “operational deficiencies” as well as improve procedures at Walker’s direction.
Given that this coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, Aponte said staff were unable to meet together for updates on changes. This led to a breakdown in the “flow of information” and caused employees to feel like they were not informed of changes or provided opportunities to give feedback.
“In addition, for over a year during this time, Lowman and Bemis shouldered a heavy workload as they were solely responsible for all communication and operational change implementation, due to supervisory staff shortages and limited positions at that time,” Aponte said in the memo.
What’s being done to improve the situation?
When reached for comment, current Public Works Director Karen Weiss said her department is committed to training managers and staff, listening to staff concerns, standardizing procedures, enhancing safety and improving workplace culture.
“How employees are feeling matters to me and to Public Works leadership, and we are adjusting how we approach and communicate workplace changes and improving workplace culture,” Weiss said. “I have implemented organizational changes in the Road Operations division, engaged with local union leadership, and am committed to rebuilding trust.”
Aponte’s memo says Weiss held all-staff meetings on March 27 and May 29 as well as four listening sessions open to staff and one listening session for crew chiefs.
Weiss has reassigned Bemis to be Traffic Operations Supervisor and moved the Traffic Operations Supervisor to Road Operations.
“In addition to facilitating a workplace change in dynamics, this temporary reassignment provides additional benefits through cross-training in positions and the leadership development of other Roads Operations Supervisors,” the memo says.
Additionally, Weiss has tasked Public Works Assistant Director Amy Gillespie with overseeing Roads Operations.
Lastly, the memo says Weiss has reached out to other jurisdictions for context on operational issues, attended quarterly labor management committee meetings, continued development of a pilot commercial driver’s license program, and worked to develop a structured equipment training and certification plan for employees.
The road workers are represented by Washington State Council of County and City Employees AFSCME Council 2, AFL-CIO. The Olympian has asked the union to comment.
This story was originally published July 21, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
