Inslee seeks ouster of regulatory leader amid tumult at agency
The chair of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission is under fire over the use of a racial slur and his passive response to employee allegations of bullying, harassment and discrimination in the regulatory agency.
Gov. Jay Inslee slashed the pay of Commissioner David Danner in late December, citing the commissioner’s admitted use of the N-word during an April 2022 lunch attended by the agency’s former executive director. He was recounting how a white Montana commissioner used it while speaking with Black commissioners at a social event at a national conference.
The governor is also pushing Danner to resign after an independent investigation concluded the chairman violated an agency policy to actively promote equity, diversity and inclusion.
It also found he failed “to ensure that employees were treated respectfully and free from harassment” by not addressing the conflicts between workers underlying the barrage of allegations of inappropriate workplace behavior.
https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/03/14/inslee-seeks-ouster-of-regulatory-leader-amid-tumult-at-agency/