Lawmaker from Gig Harbor disputes he mistreated staff

A Gig Harbor lawmaker is fighting allegations that he mistreated staff after the state House moved to restrict him from dealing with his legislative assistants for at least a year.

In a Facebook post Tuesday, Republican state Rep. Jesse Young wrote: “Of the claims made about me, none are true.”

The Associated Press reported Monday that Young was notified in a Dec. 13 letter from a House attorney that the chamber was taking actions to address a “pattern of hostile and intimidating behavior” toward staff.

The Republican won’t be able to have a supervisory role over a replacement legislative assistant. The assistant will instead report to the House Republican Caucus, the letter says.

Young also will not be able to operate an office in his home district for the next year, the letter says, because “many of the issues complained of took place in the district office.”

The letter from the House doesn’t name the staffers involved or provide further detail about the allegations against Young.

On Facebook, Young claimed he couldn’t go into detail about why the allegations weren’t true because “lawyers are involved.”

But he objected to the notification process, claiming he wasn’t allowed to see “the exact allegations” made against him before he was notified of the House action.

Young has hired Tacoma lawyer Jack Connelly to help him dispute the case.

Connelly said Tuesday that the House isn’t following its own procedures and that Young has the right to “meaningfully respond to whatever he’s being accused of.”

“Based on what we do know, the charges are not valid,” Connelly said.

Connelly declined to provide information to back up his claim. “At this point we need further information,” he said.

Calls made Tuesday to the House chief clerk and House counsel were not immediately returned.

Young represents the 26th Legislative District. He was appointed to the House in 2014 and was elected to the position last year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story was originally published January 31, 2017 at 5:17 PM with the headline "Lawmaker from Gig Harbor disputes he mistreated staff."