PAGE A2, KEIZERTIMES, AUGUST 10, 2018
Capitol harassment complaint
embroils former Keizer mayor
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
A harassment complaint
fi led against the entirety of
the Oregon Legislative Assem-
bly, Legislative Administrative
Committee and a former state
senator also alleges that former
Keizer Mayor Lore Christo-
pher contributed to “gener-
ally hostile environment based
upon sex” at the Capitol.
The complaint was lodged
by Oregon Labor Commis-
sioner Brad Avakian, the head
of the Bureau of Labor and
Industries (BOLI), with the
agency he leads. The com-
plaint, which stems from ac-
tions by a now-resigned sena-
tor as well as other employees,
states incidents included “but
were not limited multiple in-
dividuals in the Capitol to un-
welcome conduct of a sexual
nature.” Those subjected to the
hostile climate fostered by the
legislature and its employees
included legislators, employees,
lobbyists, and student interns
according to the complaint
dated Aug. 1.
Christopher, who is direc-
tor of human resources at the
Capitol is cited by name in
several places throughout the
eight-page complaint.
“I will absolutely partici-
pate in the investigation of
the BOLI complaint but will
not release the identities of any
of the courageous women and
men who have participated
in any of these investigations
and provided information to
me,” Christopher said when
reached by email. “A true cul-
ture change relies on receiving
information about miscon-
duct. Information cannot be
forthcoming without an envi-
ronment of trust and confi den-
tiality.”
She added that ensuring
confi dentiality is essential to
ensuring victims do come for-
ward and “I will not be a part
of any harm caused to indi-
viduals who were seeking to
do the right thing by reporting
misconduct.”
The centerpiece of the
complaint are allegations –
dating back to 1996 – against
Jeff Kruse, who resigned earlier
this year in the wake of more
recent harassment allegations
from fellow legislators. How-
ever, Christopher had a more
central role in other aspects of
the complaint.
In April 2017, the complaint
alleges one employee confi ded
in Christopher and Legislative
Counsel Dexter Johnson that
a male intern had previously
sexually assaulted her and one
of her acquaintances prior to
his employment at the Capi-
tol and then inquired about
SUBSCRIBE
her current sexual relation-
ship during his time as an in-
tern. Recommendations from
an investigation conducted by
Christopher included caution-
ing the victim “about talking
with anyone regarding this
complaint … as additional
conversation or actions outside
of the investigation could be
construed as retaliatory.”
The alleged harasser’s in-
ternship was near its end and
the victim was told she would
be notifi ed if he was ever hired
at the Capitol again. About a
year later, the victim found out
the harasser had been hired by
the Capitol, but was never in-
formed by the human resourc-
es department.
While Christopher isn’t
named in many of the specifi c
incidents regarding Kruse, it is
implied that inaction by hu-
man resources employees was
one of the reasons that it con-
tinued for years.
Conversely, despite repeated
complaints about harassing ac-
tions by Kruse, remediation
attempts went unheeded by
Kruse which culminated in
a letter being sent by Senate
President Peter Courtney to
Kruse in October 2017, which
read, “I was made aware that
your behavior toward women
in the workplace has also gone
unchanged. You were instruct-
ed in March of this year by
Lore Christopher, Employee
Services Manager, and Dexter
Johnson, Legislative Counsel,
that you were not to touch
women at work. Period.”
When Avakian tried to
reach out to two student in-
terns and a lobbyist to notify
them of their rights in light of
the climate at the Capitol, em-
ployees reneged on promises to
forward letters to the victims.
Eventually, Avakian was able to
contact the students through
their schools.
“The respondents have de-
nied multiple individuals full
and equal accommodations,
advantages, facilities and privi-
leges of the Capitol based on
their sex,” the complaint con-
cludes.
Avakian announced he
will be leaving BOLI in Janu-
ary 2019. Investigations of
the magnitude suggested by
the complaint will likely take
months and it will likely fall to
Avakian’s successor, Val Hoyle,
to determine how and wheth-
er it proceeds.
Hoyle is a former mem-
ber of the Oregon House of
Representatives who won the
race to be Oregon’s next labor
commissioner with 52 percent
of the vote in May.
Christopher is currently a
member of the Keizer Public
Arts Commission.
Pitching
in
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Novah Poteet assists his grandmother, Melissa Poteet, in a
clean-up effort at Bair Park Saturday, Aug. 4. The project was
organized by Farmers Insurance agent Mathew Poteet.
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