Three members of U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen’s staff reportedly drank at their desks, dissed their boss and shared it all via Twitter.
And Thursday, the Democratic congressman found out and fired them.
Larsen, a Lake Stevens resident, terminated the aides within an hour of learning of the tweets regaling their drinking exploits before and during work as part of a campaign of revelry they termed “D2R” for “December to Remember.”
The NW Daily Marker, an online conservative political journal based in Bothell, first reported details of the Twitter exchanges of legislative assistants Seth Burroughs and Elizabeth Robblee and legislative correspondent Ben Byers.
“Congressman Larsen is disappointed by their actions and takes this very seriously. He has made it clear that he will not tolerate this kind of behavior,” said Bryan Thomas, Larsen’s communications director. Thomas confirmed the identities of those fired.
Thomas said neither Larsen nor any other member of the congressional staff knew what was going on. He said no one saw any of the three workers openly drinking at work.
Screenshots of tweets posted by the online journal show the trio kicked off the debauchery Dec. 1 with shots on the steps of the Cannon House Office Building in Washington. D.C., followed by drinking in the office throughout the day.
At one point, a tweet on Burroughs’ account said, “My coworker just took a shot of Jack crouching behind my desk. We have unabashedly given up on just about all things work related.”
Another tweet on Burroughs’ account also targeted Larsen, calling him an “idiot boss” in a tweet sent out in November.
It appears the three tweeted via personal, not congressional, accounts. Thomas could not say if they ever used government computers or other devices to send out the messages.
Larsen’s staff totaled nine people before Thursday’s firings.
Burroughs and Robblee — two of the congressman’s three legislative assistants — worked on a range of policy matters, the spokesman said.
Robblee worked for U.S. Sen. Patty Murray before joining Larsen’s staff in June 2007. She earned $60,000 a year, according to Legistorm, an online database of congressional staff salaries.
Burroughs, who was hired in February 2007, earned $44,500 annually while Byers, who was hired in June 2009, stood to earn about $35,000 this year. Byers was the office’s lone legislative correspondent and dealt primarily with mail and requests from constituents, according to Thomas.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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