In this Feb. 1, 2013, file photo, Rep. Tammie Wilson, R-North Pole, responds to a reporter’s question at the Capitol in Juneau. Wilson says she has relented and taken required training to prevent harassment and discrimination. She did so after being assured that an updated legislative policy addressing sexual and other harassment would be vetted by a third-party. (Michael Penn/The Juneau Empire via AP,File)

In this Feb. 1, 2013, file photo, Rep. Tammie Wilson, R-North Pole, responds to a reporter’s question at the Capitol in Juneau. Wilson says she has relented and taken required training to prevent harassment and discrimination. She did so after being assured that an updated legislative policy addressing sexual and other harassment would be vetted by a third-party. (Michael Penn/The Juneau Empire via AP,File)

Lawmaker takes training after policy vetting pledge

  • By Becky Bohrer
  • Thursday, March 1, 2018 9:25pm
  • News

JUNEAU — An Alaska state lawmaker said she has relented and taken required training to prevent harassment and discrimination after being assured that an updated legislative policy addressing sexual and other harassment would be vetted by a third-party.

Republican Rep. Tammie Wilson of North Pole said Thursday that she wants to make sure that whatever new policy is put in place will work and allow for a safe environment. The existing policy has been criticized as too vague.

Wilson said she doesn’t want to find out with the next incident whether the new policy works. “We need to have a pretty good assurance that what we put in place definitely will keep everybody safe here,” she said.

Wilson had refused to attend training with other lawmakers earlier this year in protest over how sexual harassment allegations have been handled.

A legislative working group has drafted a rewrite of the existing policy and said last week that it would seek comments on it from legislative staff and from the National Conference of State Legislatures.

For investigations involving a legislator, the draft would allow the Legislature’s human resources manager to hire an independent investigator or for the parties involved to request one through legislative leaders.

Skiff Lobaugh, the human resources manager, told the working group the existing policy is silent on the issue of an outside investigator. He said he has never seen a need to use one but said there could be situation in the future where one might be needed.

The draft also proposes informal and formal reporting processes.

Minority Republicans were critical of how allegations of inappropriate behavior by former Democratic Rep. Dean Westlake were handled last year, though Lobaugh has said House leaders followed existing policies in responding.

A female legislative aide last March sent a letter to House Speaker Bryce Edgmon and House Majority Leader Chris Tuck, citing two incidents of “unwelcome physical contact” involving Westlake, including an allegation he grabbed her buttocks. Lobaugh said Edgmon, after receiving the letter, told Westlake his actions were inappropriate and would not be tolerated. Lobaugh said there were no other incidents involving the woman.

But after she went public with her allegations last fall, a newspaper report said other female aides said Westlake acted inappropriately toward them or made them feel uncomfortable.

Westlake resigned in December.

More in News

Snow coats an eroding bluff near the mouth of the Kenai River on Friday, March 3, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai accepting bids on bluff stabilization project

The announcement means that contractors can start submitting their proposals for how they’d complete the work and how much it would cost to do so

A stack of the Seward Journal is pictured. The town’s only daily newspaper published its last edition Nov. 27. (Photo via Seward Journal Facebook page)
‘A thing of the past’

Seward Journal calls it quits after struggle to keep newspaper afloat

Tim Navarre and Dana Cannava discuss a preliminary Soldotna route for the Kahtnu Area Transit with Planner Bryant Wright at the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Getting people where they need to go

Plans for Kenaitze Indian Tribe’s Kahtnu Area Transit move forward

A state plow truck clears snow from the Kenai Spur Highway on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
DOT identifies roads included in brine reduction plan

The department said its goal is to reduce brine use overall in the region by 40%

Soldotna High School senior Josiah Burton testifies in opposition to the proposed cut of Kenai Peninsula Borough School District theater technicians while audience members look on during a board of education meeting on Monday, March 6, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
School board finance group reviews expenditures ahead of upcoming budget cycle

As the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District prepares to grapple with another… Continue reading

Members of the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee raise hands to vote in favor of a proposal during a meeting at Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Silver salmon, personal use fishing discussed by advisory committee

The group set their recommendations on a variety of proposals to the State Board of Fisheries

Hoses pump water along Patrick Drive to help mitigate flooding near Kalifornsky Beach Road on Friday, July 21, 2023, near Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough spent almost $78k responding to flood events during disaster declaration

Most of the funds were spend in the northwest area of Kalifornsky Beach Road

The National Weather Service’s map shows a winter weather advisory, in orange, effective for much of the eastern Kenai Peninsula. (Screenshot)
Heavy snow, blowing winds forecast for Turnagain Pass on Wednesday

Snow accumulations of up to 16 inches are expected

The Kenai Courthouse is seen on Monday, July 3, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Grand jury adds charges in October killing of Homer woman

The indictment was delivered on Nov. 8

Most Read