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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2017
Women at Capitol stand up against harassment
Letter follows
claims against
lawmakers
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — One hundred
and thirty women have signed
a letter standing up against and
casting light on harassment and
sexism at the Oregon Capitol.
Spearheaded by state Rep.
Jodi Hack, R-Salem, and
House Speaker Tina Kotek and
Rep. Jennifer Williamson, who
are Portland Democrats, the
letter is modeled after one cir-
culated in Sacramento follow-
ing accusations of widespread
sexual harassment in the Cali-
fornia statehouse.
“Oregon has more women
in political leadership than any
other state, and that has made
a positive difference,” the letter
states. “But it’s still not enough.
As women working in the halls
of our democratic institutions,
we want to empower women
to speak up without fear when
they have been harassed, bul-
lied, or dehumanized.”
The letter coincides with
an Oregon landing page on
the “We Said Enough” web-
site. California lawmakers
created the website last week
to encourage women to tell
their stories of harassment and
unwanted advances. About 150
women signed the California
letter.
Circulation of the Oregon
letter follows accusations by
Sen. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis,
and another unnamed female
senator earlier this month
that Sen. Jeff Kruse, R-Rose-
burg, repeatedly inappropri-
ately touched them. Kruse has
denied the allegations .
Gelser’s revelation has
sparked other women who
work at the Capitol to come
forward with other instances of
subtle sexism and harassment,
as reported by Oregon Public
Broadcasting.
The letter urges lawmak-
ers and others at the Capitol
“to create a culture where it
is expected that people (both
men and women) will speak up
when it is happening in front of
them, and ensure that it is safe
to report it when it happens in
private.”
The Legislature will hire
an outside consultant to exam-
ine its personnel policies, the
House Majority offi ce con-
fi rmed Friday.
Women who signed the let-
ter include existing and former
Democrat and Republican law-
makers, legislative staffers and
lobbyists.
“Changing the culture of
any institution starts at the top
Holy Mola mola!
The Daily Astorian
Visitors to Cannon Beach
met up with a huge sea crea-
ture Sunday morning.
It was tentatively identifi ed
as a Mola mola, an ocean sun-
fi sh, nearly 7 feet long, The
Oregonian reported.
The Mola mola are a type
of sunfi sh that live off the
Oregon C oast. They get to be
about 11 feet long and are the
largest bony fi sh known. They
also carry a multitude of eggs
— up to 300 million, the larg-
est of any vertebrate in the
world.
and that’s ultimately what this
letter is about,” Williamson,
D-Portland, said. “We are com-
mitted, as a bipartisan group,
to improving the culture of the
Capitol and ensuring that it is a
positive work environment for
everyone. That starts by ensur-
ing individuals feel empowered
to come forward with issues.
This isn’t about politics — it’s
about making this institution
better.”
Rep. Julie Parrish, who
signed the letter, said she hopes
the letter sparks dialogue about
incidents that have stayed
largely private until now.
“Oregon has a larger seg-
ment of elected women than
other states — and in recent
years, we have seen an uptick
in female lobbyists, but politics
is still a male-driven industry,”
said Parrish, a Republican from
West Linn.
A reminder to respect
boundaries is “a good check for
everybody,” she said. “Every
woman’s threshold for what she
thinks is appropriate or inap-
propriate is going to be differ-
ent, but hey, if she says no, back
off, listen to her. She means it.”
Senate President Peter
Courtney, D-Salem, imposed
“unprecedented”
sanctions
against Kruse in response to
the allegations that Kruse con-
tinued to touch the two sena-
tors after he was asked not to.
As punishment for that and for
Kruse’s habit of smoking inside
the Capitol building, Courtney
ordered the removal of Kruse’s
offi ce door and stripped him
of his committee assignments,
which weakens his power to
infl uence legislation. The door
was removed early Friday.
Gelser fi rst hinted at the alle-
gations in a tweet in which she
asked a Republican Senate aide
if he would ensure members of
his caucus don’t inappropriately
touch or grope female lawmak-
ers or staff in the Capitol. Gelser
made an informal complaint
that Kruse had touched her
inappropriately in March 2016.
At that time, Courtney followed
protocol and reported the alle-
gation to Legislative Counsel
Dexter Johnson and Employee
Services Manager Lore Chris-
topher. Johnson and Christo-
pher told Kruse to stop touching
women at work, Courtney’s let-
ter stated. Gelser told The Ore-
gonian that Kruse’s behavior
didn’t stop.
Courtney also has reported
the latest accusations by Gelser
and the other female sena-
tor to Legislative Counsel
and Employee Services, and
those offi ces are conducting a
fact-fi nding inquiry.
The Capital Bureau is a col-
laboration between EO Media
Group and Pamplin Media
Group.
Portland man allegedly
fi red shots during chase
The Daily Astorian
A Portland man allegedly
shot at a car that was chasing
him after he was suspected of
burglarizing an Ilwaco storage
facility early Saturday morning.
John Wilson, 45, allegedly
stole items from a storage
unit before 3 a.m. As he was
driving away in a red Ford
Explorer, the owner of the
items chased him in a vehicle
until Wilson was eventually
arrested by Astoria Police on
the south side of the Asto-
ria Bridge near West Marine
Drive.
W A NTED
Brenna Visser/ The Daily Astorian
The Mola mola that washed
ashore in Cannon Beach.
Safe and covered
Trick-or-Treating
Clatsop County
unemployment
inches upward
The Daily Astorian
Clatsop County’s unem-
ployment
rate
inched
upward
in
Septem-
ber, according to season-
ally adjusted fi gures from
the state Employment
Department.
Seasonally adjusted rates
compare expected with
actual changes in employ-
ment. The county had a 4.3
percent seasonally adjusted
unemployment rate in Sep-
tember, up from 4.1 per-
cent in August. The coun-
ty’s unemployment reached
its lowest point in May, at
3.5 percent.
Clatsop County was
tied for the eighth-lowest
unemployment rate in the
state with Deschutes and
Wasco counties. Oregon
and the U.S. were both at
4.2 percent.
The county lost 310 jobs
in September, 50 more than
expected. The private sec-
tor cut 470 jobs, while the
government added 160.
Leisure and hospitality cut
290; retail trade, food man-
ufacturing and other ser-
vices 40; and professional
and business services 30.
Local government and edu-
cation added 170 jobs as the
school year began.
Nonfarm
payroll
employment was at 18,120,
a drop of 20 compared with
a year before. Leisure and
hospitality added 160 jobs
over the past year, and
fi nancial activities another
50. Manufacturing cut 200
jobs over the past year.
Clatsop Retirement Village is the place to trick-and-treat
With many friendly faces and bowls of candies sweet
Young children are invited to travel from floor to floor
And places to visit will be marked clearly on each door
No need to fret about the traffic or the weather
Traveling about the CRV building is warmer, drier, and safe r
Little Goblins are welcomed from six until eight
It will be lots of fun! Don’t come late!
6–8pm HALLOWEEN
974 Olney Ave. Astoria
Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber
N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A
Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500
tuesday
October 31st
Join us Halloween evening
Trick
- or -
Treat
3 - 6 PM
Get your picture
taken first and
trick-or-treat
while it’s printing!
Suite 114 next to Kitchen Collection.
Free with request of donation to
benefit adopted families
during The holidays.
12 Th Ave. & Hwy. 101, SeASide, Or • 503.717.1603 • SeASideOuTleTS.cOm