Whatcom County Democrats Executive Board turned the heat up on the county council in an open letter this week denouncing the long delay in releasing an investigative report into the county administration’s controversial handling of a sexual harassment case.
In the letter to county council and the public, the board noted that more than four months have passed since 87 county employees submitted a formal letter to the county, requesting prompt and transparent actions on the issue. The employee letter stated employees did not feel safe or supported and “the mishandling of the case had eroded the trust and confidence we have in the county administration’s commitment to addressing sexual harassment cases effectively.”
The request stemmed from an April story by Cascade PBS revealing allegations from female employees against former Public Works Director Jon Hutchings, and the settlement paid to one worker. Cascadia Daily News reported that county council members were unaware of the allegations or settlement, and Hutchings had been allowed to quietly resign. It was later revealed by CDN that county administrators helped Hutchings secure a new position with a glowing “letter of introduction” to the City of Lynden, where he is now the public works director.
Long delay
In late July, CDN reported that employees had not received any substantial updates from the council into the probe. At the time, the council’s investigative subcommittee, council members Ben Elenbaas, Barry Buchanan and Todd Donovan, had interviewed 12 people with two or three more interviews to go.
The subcommittee has at times seemed unclear about what form the final report would take and what it should include. However, at the council meeting on Tuesday, Sep. 10, the subcommittee described a dense, five- to six-page report to come that would summarize concerns heard during their interviews with employees.
Council member Tyler Byrd suggested the subcommittee have the report ready to go to be included for discussion at their next meeting on Sept. 24.
“We hope the County Council’s report will explicitly document that disclosure laws, as well as procedures, were broken, explore why this happened and by whom,” stated the Whatcom County Democrats Executive Board letter, which was adopted unanimously on Tuesday.
The letter asserted that the prosecutor and the county executive “jointly sidestepped requirements of the law, giving the appearance that embarrassing disclosures were being withheld from the press and the public.”
“One possible outcome of such a report could be a public acknowledgement of wrongdoing,” the board suggested.
However, sparse updates provided by the council since the subcommittee was first announced in early May, have indicated that the group was mostly focused on identifying systemic issues with human resource policies.
The council unanimously voted in late April to initiate the formal investigation into the county’s handling of sexual harassment and retaliation allegations against Hutchings and the subsequent settlement of $225,000 to a female employee.
The move came after a 10-day firestorm of statements, rebuttals and official actions as county leaders grappled with calls for change and more transparency in the wake of the Cascade PBS investigation that blindsided council members.
Hutchings resigned from the position amid a sexual harassment and workplace retaliation accusations in October 2022. The settlement was paid in November 2023.
The announcement of a formal probe on May 7 was applauded by Whatcom County employees in a letter to the council in May. The letter stated that regular communication and updates on progress in the investigation were vital “to regain our trust and confidence in the County’s commitment to its employees.”
Executive Satpal Sidhu came under fire from the Whatcom County Democrats Executive Board for initially defending his role in the county’s decisions. He later apologized for signing off on the recommendation letter, nearly entirely written by Hutchings, calling it “an error in judgment.”
Sidhu did welcome calls for change and more transparency following ongoing reporting on the case. In late April, Sidhu stated Whatcom County’s handling of the allegations pointed toward “systemic issues in reporting protocols, transparency and action steps.”
Senior deputy prosecutor George Roche, who signed off on the $225,000 payment to the employee, has stated that his role in providing counsel to the county in its investigation did not present a conflict of interest.
However, in May, council member Kaylee Galloway, while noting that she was grateful to have Roche as the council’s legal representation, suggested that the public might want to see outside counsel brought in.
On Tuesday, the council floated the idea that the report, once released, could be used to formally request an outside review of the county’s human resource policies. It would additionally provide a foundation for whomever is hired to undertake the review.
“This is what we want to hand to the person that’s going to come in and kind of do an outside review,” Donovan said.
Isaac Stone Simonelli is CDN’s enterprise/investigations reporter; reach him at isaacsimonelli@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 127.
