PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson Healthcare commission chair and four hospital employees have been issued written warnings from the state Public Disclosure Commission for using agency facilities during a 2017 campaign.
Chair Jill Buhler Rienstra and hospital staff members Dr. Kent Smith, Sue Gilliard, LouAnn Rogers and Jeinell Harper all received warnings July 23 based on a complaint filed with the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) in August 2017.
The PDC closed the case without further investigation.
“We were pleased to learn the PDC completed their investigation and determined the actions of Jefferson Healthcare staff did not amount to a violation warranting further investigation,” Jefferson Healthcare CEO Mike Glenn said Thursday.
“We will continue to educate all employees, and, where appropriate, issue warnings about the importance of complying with PDC guidance for local government agencies in election campaigns.”
Employee pressure
Eva Raczkowski Bennett of Port Townsend filed the complaint two years ago, alleging hospital employees had been pressured at work, during work hours, to support Bruce McComas’ campaign to be elected to the hospital commission.
McComas won the seat to the five-member board in November 2017.
“The employees who have been approached have stated that they feel that, if they do not react positively by supporting Mr. McComas actively, they will lose their jobs or, at the least, be made to feel uncomfortable in their place of work,” Bennett’s complaint said.
Hospital staff completed an internal investigation and filed a 20-page response to the PDC from P. Stephen DiJulio of the law firm Foster Pepper PLLC in October 2017.
The report showed reminders sent by Jefferson Healthcare hospital officials to employees regarding election rules, which state the agency’s facilities can not be used for the purposes of campaigning.
It included two emails from Glenn, the second of which provided PDC language and guidelines for local government agencies in election campaigns.
The internal investigation did find “some employees used public facilities inappropriately, by distributing literature, using agency phones and circulating endorsement forms” despite being told they could only do so on their own time and without hospital equipment.
“While a majority of employees are aware of and abide by the guidelines communicated to them, the [hospital] District agrees that a few employees have engaged in inappropriate activity, despite the District’s direction to not do so,” the internal report stated. “These violations may have been inadvertent, or based on employees’ misunderstanding of the PDC guidelines.
“However, the District recognizes that the employees nonetheless violated the PDC guidelines and is not attempting to minimize such violations.”
The hospital district has no prior PDC violations.
“The Commission will consider the formal written warning in deciding on further Commission action if there are future violations of PDC laws or rules,” the PDC said.
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Jefferson County Managing Editor Brian McLean can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 6, or at bmclean@peninsuladailynews.com.
