Local Angle: Most female legislators from county sign on
Nearly every female member of Clark County’s legislative delegation has signed on to a letter calling for the legislative branch to change how it responds to sexual harassment.
Republican Sens. Lynda Wilson and Ann Rivers signed the letter, as did Democratic Sen. Annette Cleveland and Reps. Sharon Wylie and Monica Stonier.
Rivers said she hopes the letter will send a message to legislative leaders and constituents that lawmakers take the issue seriously.
“Olympia is very relationship-based, and so there is a fear of speaking out,” said Rivers, who noted that staff members or lobbyists fear consequences if they report inappropriate behavior. “I just think for the sake of the institution and for the workers there that we have to do our level best to create a healthy work environment.”
Cleveland said that when she first entered the Legislature five years ago she felt like she had “stepped back 30 years in terms of how women were treated.”
She said that first step to addressing the problem is to point it out, which she said is difficult.
“It’s powerful to me to see so many willing to take that risk and point to the problem,” she said.
Stonier said that she’s seen a range of inappropriate behaviors in the Legislature from overt acts to subtle comments or touching. They build up over time. She said that recent revelations that state legislators have been accused of harassment have made it clear that women in leadership positions need to have an active role in changing the culture.
“Now, we have more women, we have younger women, we have women (in leadership positions in politics) who have good relationships with other aspiring women in our communities,” she said. “And we really have the responsibility to see that we have safe work environments.”
While Stonier said it was encouraging that so many lobbyists as well as legislators from both parties across the state have signed on to the letter, she said it’s a first step.
“We will have to keep beating the drum,” she said.
Neither Vicki Kraft of Vancouver nor Liz Pike of Camas, both Republican state representatives, signed the letter.
Pike wrote in a text that she was out of the country on vacation and did not hear about the letter until Monday night.
In a text, Kraft, who is in her first term, wrote, “I am reviewing and considering signing on to the letter.”
She added that she’s “not had to deal with this issue at the state Legislature or had any significant issues previously. However sexual harassment or assault should never be allowed or tolerated in any circumstance. If it happens, it should certainly be addressed.”
— Jake Thomas
