Washington public-lands commissioner apologized after complaint by employee

Washington's public-lands commissioner, Doug Sutherland, inappropriately touched and made remarks to a young female employee who soon quit the Department of Natural Resources despite his formal apology, according to public documents on the incident from his own department.

During a workplace meeting in 2005, Sutherland touched the woman's back and waist and made suggestive comments that made her uncomfortable, according to written accounts from the woman and a witness.

After an internal investigation, Sutherland met with the woman at her request and apologized to her. He agreed that he had violated departmental policy on appropriate behavior, according to the documents.

Sutherland has maintained that his contact with the woman was simply meant to be a friendly gesture. And, in an unpublished interview in April with a Seattle Times reporter, Sutherland specifically disputed that his remarks had been lewd.

"I have no recollection of saying anything like that," he said. "Nor do I believe I would have."

The name of the former employee was not included in the public documents on the incident. She has not filed legal claims or lawsuits over the matter. She has not responded to interview requests.

But details about the incident are emerging at a sensitive time for Sutherland, 71, a Republican and former Pierce County executive who is running for a third term overseeing more than 5 million acres of state lands and logging on private timberlands.

The Seattle Times in late February received the documents detailing the allegations from critics of Sutherland who back his Democratic opponent, Peter Goldmark. The Times did not publish a story at the time. The details were first publicly reported online in a Seattle-based blog, horsesass.org, on Tuesday.

The state Democratic Party quickly issued a news release criticizing Sutherland for "abhorrent behavior."

Goldmark called the incident "really disturbing."

But Sutherland's campaign manager, Todd Myers, characterized the release of the documents as an act of political desperation by Goldmark supporters.

He noted that some of the same people backed former Gov. Mike Lowry, a Democrat, in his 2000 race against Sutherland. Lowry opted not to seek a second term as governor after allegations of sexual harassment.

In the interview with The Times, Sutherland said the incident was "not indicative of how I am, or who I am, or what I do or how I manage."

There has been no evidence of other harassment complaints against Sutherland as lands commissioner or as Pierce County executive, a position he held from 1993 to 2000, according to the state and Pierce County ethics commissions, which can investigate complaints of misconduct by state and county officials.

No court cases against Sutherland regarding harassment could be found. Sutherland said it's the only time a harassment complaint has ever been lodged against him.

January '05 incident

The incident occurred in January 2005, at a department meeting in the South King County town of Pacific. According to handwritten notes by the woman that were included in the public record, Sutherland reached across the group of employees, grasped her shoulder, turned her so her back was facing him, and then felt her back from her neck to her waist.

After that, she wrote, Sutherland made a remark about "just looking," and soon afterward added something to the effect of "could have felt ... up front," or "could have felt the other side."

Doug McLelland, a veteran department employee, offered a similar account in a statement written shortly after the incident. He recounted that Sutherland said something like "she has some other nice parts too," after he touched her back.

"To me it was inappropriate in the setting and very uncomfortable to all present, especially ... a new employee to our agency," McLelland wrote.

The woman wrote that later in the meeting, Sutherland again approached her, put his hand around her waist, and said that he would like to come to her office and see the work done there.

The same day, the woman told people at the meeting that she was uncomfortable and felt Sutherland had behaved inappropriately, triggering the investigation by department personnel.

Different description

In department documents, Sutherland offered a different description of the encounter. He said it came after a testy meeting with off-road enthusiasts who use state lands, and that he simply had touched the employee's back and remarked that she didn't appear to have "any arrows in her back."

"I had intended it to be an inclusive gesture, but in retrospect it was not the right way to do so," said a written statement by Sutherland included in the public documents.

Finally, Sutherland met with the employee and apologized, then met with a human-resources manager to "better understand" the harassment policy.

A top-level manager also sent a note to Department of Natural Resources staff members reminding them to be mindful of how things like a casual hug or touch could affect co-workers.

Less than a month after the encounter, the woman quit her job at the department. Sutherland later acknowledged that the incident probably contributed to her departure, the documents say.

Sutherland, who described himself as open and gregarious, said in the interview that as a result of this case, "I'm not quite so informal with new employees."

Warren Cornwall: 206-464-2311 or wcornwall@seattletimes.com