OLYMPIA — An investigation released Monday found State Rep. Michelle Caldier, R-Gig Harbor, violated Washington state House policies on abusive behavior and bullying.
Investigator Sheryl J. Willert, of law firm Williams Kastner, concluded in a report to the Chief Clerk of the House, Bernard Dean, that Caldier “demonstrates a pattern of behavior in which she lashes out at people, makes public statements that have the impact of demeaning and embarrassing individuals and is generally disrespectful.”
Caldier, who according to the report experienced vision loss, had claimed that the House had failed to accommodate her disability. Willert found that claim “wholly unsubstantiated,” adding that the House had provided Caldier with reasonable accommodations.
Phone calls, an email and a text message to Caldier were not returned Monday afternoon.
Caldier has represented the 26th district including parts of Bremerton, Gig Harbor, Port Orchard and the Key Peninsula since 2015.
She is appealing the investigation, which was spurred in December 2022 to due to an interaction at the Spokane airport the month before.
According to the report, Caldier told a person in the women’s bathroom at the airport that they were “horrible” and “I’m done with you,” which another person overheard. Caldier was returning from a House Republican caucus meeting in Spokane in November 2022.
It was not clear from the report who those people were because their names and titles were not provided — instead, each person interviewed was referred to as Individual 1, Individual 2, and so on.
According to the report, Caldier admitted to the statements, but said that she was startled, was putting on makeup and couldn’t see who was talking to her and didn’t know why the person had “followed her into the bathroom.”
Willert interviewed more than a dozen people for the report, including Caldier. The report is dated Oct. 12; it was not released to reporters until Dec. 18.
Caldier had higher-than-usual turnover among her legislative assistants, and the investigator attributed much of that to the “manner” in which Caldier communicated with them.
Caldier had been removed from a leadership role as a ranking member of the caucus in early 2022 due to her interactions with staff, according to the report. Caldier then left the caucus altogether in late 2022, telling investigators that she left “mostly” because of “the way she had been treated.”
Caldier told investigators about her issues receiving accommodations. She recounted needing to pay $2,000 out of pocket for transportation to a meeting, among other issues.
Willert found that the accommodations were reasonable and should be enough to let her do her job. The investigator said Caldier didn’t follow instructions that would have prevented her from needing to pay the $2,000 up front. She did get reimbursed.
Appeals go to a group of state lawmakers called the Executive Rules Committee. They review the appeal and can ask for more information and can uphold or reconsider the investigator’s findings.
House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, a member of the executive rules committee, said Monday afternoon that she hadn’t had a chance to read the report and couldn’t comment. A spokesperson for House Republican Leader Drew Stokesbary said he wouldn’t comment until the appeal is finished.
Caldier told the investigator that she was supported “by a number of individuals within the legislature regarding a number of issues relating to the complaint that had been lodged against her,” and also said that the investigation was “all about power.”
“Representative Caldier reported that, from her perspective, she knew that this process would be weaponized and that no matter how this matter turned out, there would be a headline,” Willert wrote.
