New ad highlights Washington candidate’s past behavior against staffers
A new campaign ad was released last week in Washington’s most expensive legislative race, targeting one candidate’s alleged history of past aggression towards legislative staff members.
The News Tribune interviewed several of those staffers in 2017, and they provided details about their interactions with current 26th Legislative District Rep. Jesse Young, after the Associated Press initially obtained a letter from House Council earlier that year.
The new ad, sponsored by the New Direction PAC, focuses on anti-abortion legislation sponsored by former House Rep. Matt Shea that Young co-signed in 2019, as well as some of Young’s co-sponsored legislation to end mail-in voting in Washington in 2022. It also touched on the former staffer’s allegations against Young.
Young, who has been in office since 2014, hasn’t had a legislative assistant since 2016, according to Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk for the Washington House of Representatives. He has not complied with the requirements needed in order to have a legislative assistant again, Dean said.
One former staffer referred to weekly calls with the legislator as “the weekly staff beating.” Another staffer claimed she was called a vulgar name regularly.
“Young discounted the allegations about his behavior, saying they stemmed from disgruntled former employees who were exaggerating or fabricating their stories because they were fired or left on bad terms,” The News Tribune wrote in 2017.
Young did not respond to McClatchy’s request for a comment for this article.
Young’s opponent in the Washington Senate race is Democratic incumbent Sen. Emily Randall from Bremerton, who was elected to the seat in 2018. According to the Public Disclosure Commission website, Randall has raised $915,274 in her campaign. Her biggest donor is the House Democratic Campaign Committee with $85,000 in donated funds.
Young has raised $699,049 in his campaign so far. The House Republican Organizational Committee has donated the most to Young’s campaign according to PDC, with more than $100,000 in donations.
In a recent debate between the two candidates, Randall defended her vote for legislation to ban high-speed chases in Washington state, an issue that has come under fire since it was first implemented. Young criticized Randall’s approach to public safety, noting that she does not have support from police unions, even though she has been endorsed by Kitsap County Sheriff John Gese.
Ballots are due by 8 p.m. Nov. 8 for all Washington voters.
This story was originally published October 26, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "New ad highlights Washington candidate’s past behavior against staffers."
