Oregon Senate panel clears Democratic senator of discrimination, harassment
Committee did find that Sen. Chris Gorsek, D-Gresham, violated legislative policies for a respectful workplace
By Julia Shumway, Oregon Capital Chronicle
SALEM, Ore. -- A Democratic Oregon state senator who interrupted and raised his voice at a Republican state representative during a contentious debate last June was disrespectful but didn’t break the Legislature’s anti-discrimination policies, the Senate Conduct Committee determined Wednesday evening.
The complaint stems from a verbal altercation in a public meeting over transportation funding. It highlighted a long-running conflict between free speech and respectful conduct in the state Legislature, where tempers often run hot and lawmakers from both parties have accused each other of weaponizing conduct complaints for political reasons.
In separate 4-0 and 3-1 votes, the committee of two Democrats and two Republicans found that Sen. Chris Gorsek, D-Gresham, did not engage in harassment or discrimination when he interrupted Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis, R-Albany. Sens. Deb Patterson, D-Salem; Suzanne Weber, R-Tillamook, and Dick Anderson, R-Lincoln City, did acknowledge that Gorsek responded differently to Boshart Davis than to male lawmakers who made similar comments.
Along with Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, they unanimously recommended that the two participate in a “facilitated conversation,” though whether that happens is up to Boshart Davis.
Boshart Davis, who attended the meeting with her husband, stood and walked out as the committee considered whether to recommend a facilitated conversation. Earlier in the evening, she called the Legislature’s human resources director’s recommendation of such a conversation “somewhat laughable” because no business would wait eight months to handle an employee issue.
“I find it disturbing that the investigation failed to address why Senator Gorsek targeted only me while ignoring male colleagues who shared my views, and it completely overlooked his documented history of intimidating female legislators,” Boshart Davis texted the Capital Chronicle later that evening. “Further, Senator Gorsek’s refusal to apologize for overextending his authority and the majority party’s deafening silence is normalizing a toxic culture of intimidation and misogyny in this building.”
Gorsek told the Capital Chronicle after the meeting that he has not personally apologized to Boshart Davis, but that he may do so in a guided conversation.
Complaint alleged different treatment for female, male lawmakers
Boshart Davis filed her complaint after a contentious June meeting on the Legislature’s ill-fated attempt to pass a long-term transportation funding measure. Boshart Davis, a Republican vice chair of the transportation funding committee and a trucking company owner, was one of the most outspoken critics of Democrats’ attempts to raise various taxes and fees to pay for transportation.
During that meeting, Boshart Davis described the $15 billion transportation funding bill Democrats hoped to pass in the waning days of the legislative session as “grossly irresponsible.” Gorsek, a committee co-chair, interrupted her, leaning toward her and loudly accusing her of impugning the motives of the lawmakers who crafted the bill.
They spoke over each other for about 20 seconds, with Gorsek twice telling Boshart Davis to “stop” and “you’ve made your point” while she protested that she had used the same words as other representatives. Rep. Susan McLain, a Forest Grove Democrat sitting between the two, raised one hand toward each of them and convinced them to stop.
Boshart Davis then filed a conduct complaint accusing Gorsek of engaging in “intimidating and aggressive” behavior. She also alleged that Gorsek engaged in sex-based discrimination because he was aggressive toward her but not toward male lawmakers who also criticized the bill.
Gorsek strongly disagreed with that assessment, telling the conduct committee on Wednesday that he had long respected Boshart Davis and her expertise on transportation.
“I did not interrupt Representative Boshart Davis because she is a woman or based on any protected characteristics,” Gorsek told the Conduct Committee. “This was a robust hearing, and after Representative Boshart Davis had already had an opportunity to speak to the issues at hand, she made additional remarks that, in my view, characterized the committee’s work in a way that I believe was unfair.”
He added that lawmakers need to be able to speak candidly but also respectfully about legislation.
“I understand that tone and timing matter, and if my interjection contributed to a colleague feeling disrespected, I do regret that,” he said.
The Legislative Equity Office retained Cristela Delgado-Daniel, an attorney with Miller Nash LLP, to conduct an independent investigation. In her 15-page report, Delgado-Daniel concluded that Gorsek’s conduct “reasonably shocked, embarrassed and intimidated” Boshart Davis, but that it did not constitute discrimination.
In a one-page written response, Boshart Davis faulted Senate President Rob Wagner, a Lake Oswego Democrat who temporarily appointed himself to the committee after a Democratic senator indicated he wouldn’t support the bill, for not intervening.
She also said the report should have included the context that Rep. Kevin Mannix, R-Salem, had described the bill as “grossly obese.” The report did include that Rep. Mark Gamba, D-Milwaukie, referred to an alternative Republican proposal as “irresponsible.”
“Certainly, this should be included in the report as it shows multiple men’s comments — of which I used the same words as both Rep. Gamba and Rep. Mannix — and how neither of them (notably one a Republican and one a Democrat) were shut down, berated and/or interrupted,” she wrote.
Speaking to the conduct committee Wednesday evening, Boshart Davis said the report rationalized intimidating conduct and minimized her experience by focusing on her emotional reaction to Gorsek’s conduct instead of his behavior.
“Legislative proceedings are not a free-for-all where aggression and disrespect are excused under the guise of passion,” she said.
Republicans allege pattern of bullying
Boshart Davis also referred to what Republicans alleged last June was a “documented pattern of bullying, harassing and intimidating female legislators who speak up and express opinions that differ from his.” In response to repeated inquiries from the Capital Chronicle last summer, a House Republican spokesman pointed to the experience of former Rep. Jodi Hack, R-Salem.
During a 2015 debate about expanding college aid to immigrant students who entered the country with their parents, Gorsek said it was “horrible” that some lawmakers were considering voting against the measure.
“Imagine you’re being told by the Legislature of this state that you don’t belong even though you’ve lived in this culture the whole or almost all of your life,” he said.
Hack, who opposed the measure, interrupted to say that she felt Gorsek was impugning her motives. The House then stood at ease. Audio isn’t available on an archival video, but contemporaneous reporting in The Oregonian/OregonLive described Gorsek and Hack shouting at each other during that break.
Delgado-Daniel’s report appears to describe that incident, though it doesn’t name Hack. In a footnote, Delgado-Daniel wrote that the female legislator involved felt Gorsek’s apology was sincere.
“She also shared that though she did not know if Respondent would have acted the same way if she were a man, she did not think Respondent had interrupted her because she was a woman, but rather because he was passionate about the bill being discussed,” the report says.
Capital Chronicle reporter Shaanth Nanguneri contributed to this report.
