OLYMPIA — Lt. Gov. Brad Owen has sent Republican Sen. Pam Roach a letter admonishing her for her behavior in recent public hearings, including an exchange during a televised hearing in which she noted campaign contributions made to her opponent in her re-election bid.
The four-page letter obtained Monday by The Associated Press was sent to Roach on Friday. In it, Owen states that her “abusive behavior” must stop. He also informs her that she can only meet with nonpartisan committee staff when in the presence of another senator on the committee, Republican Sen. Kirk Pearson.
Roach said Monday that she hadn’t yet read the letter in its entirety, but said it was a “very unfair assessment.”
“I am a fair chair,” she said. “I am a tough chair.”
Owen, who also serves as the presiding officer overseeing the Senate, wrote that he had received a written complaint following a public hearing on an initiative signature gathering bill before the Governmental Operations and Security Committee earlier this month, when representatives of the Washington Food Industries Association appeared to testify in support of the bill.
During the hearing, Roach asked one of the supporters who testified if they knew where their money went during her campaign and ended the exchange with: “Because you know what? I won.”
“We have never before seen such a raw and public display connecting campaign contributions to legislative action,” Owen wrote.
Owen wrote that Roach’s treatment of people who appear before her committee is “a great matter of concern.”
He cites other hearings where he alleges that Roach either has interrupted people testifying, or has not allowed other committee members to ask questions.
“Although you are the chair, you do not have ultimately power over all questions and comments made by other committee members, particularly when those comments are pertinent and important,” he wrote.
The letter thoroughly details previous history with Roach in the Senate, including the fact she was banned from the Republican caucus two years ago after an investigation determined that she had mistreated staff. He also wrote that she gives conflicting instructions to committee staff and makes “unreasonable” demands on them during hearings.
Owen warns that he supports additional punitive actions against her “if your behavior does not immediately improve.
Both Republican and Democratic Senate leaders received a copy of the letter. Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Messages left with Pearson, and with Sen. Marko Liias, the ranking Democrat on the committee, also were not immediately returned. Senate Minority Leader Sharon Nelson, D-Maury Island, said that ultimately it was a Republican caucus issue, but that it was appropriate for Roach to be notified about concerns.
Roach said she is being vilified by her opponents, including some within her own party, and she said Owen should have given her an opportunity to respond to the allegations before taking any action against her.
She read from a letter that she said she had started writing in response to Owen, in which she says she is a victim of a multiyear character assassination.
“I’ve been the most unfairly treated senator in state history,” she read.
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