If anyone in the private sector had sexual harassment claims substantiated by human resources, they’d be out. Fired. Whatever terminology you prefer.
That goes double if that employee also demonstrated such horrendously bad judgment that they were involved in a situation that resulted in a cup of urine being left on an assistant’s desk.
But not in the Oklahoma House, where a committee stopped short of recommending expulsion for state Rep. Danny Williams.
That bipartisan group of lawmakers met behind closed doors for two days last month to hear testimony from witnesses and victims before determining that Williams, R-Seminole, had sexually harassed multiple women and urinated in that cup.
But rather than vote to discipline the 77-year-old by expelling him, this committee merely recommended the full House reprimand him — the equivalent of a public slap on the wrist.
They also recommended that Williams be stripped of all committee assignments and leadership posts, lose access to a legislative assistant and have no one-on-one contact with House staff. (They didn’t address how they’re going to protect his constituents from having one-on-one contact.)
This committee also suggested Williams complete “approved sexual harassment and toxic workplace training,” though apparently nobody can require him to do that.
They also called on him to resign and not seek reelection, but again that’s optional. So far, he hasn’t done those either.
Rather, Williams denied the claims and called the process unfair.
Despite the fact that this is an HR issue and not a criminal trial, Williams complained that he “couldn’t challenge” those who accused him or “deal with false statements.”
He also denied urinating in the cup despite House Speaker Kyle Hilbert saying Williams was one of only two people working late that night that could have done it. (Even if he didn’t personally urinate in that cup, it’s not the job of William’s assistant to dispose of bodily fluids that belong in a toilet.)
Rep. Andy Fugate, D-Oklahoma City, said if any employee of a private business had faced the same accusations, they would have been terminated.
But Fugate said the House “is limited by its rules, procedures, and the reality of an election just weeks away.”
“The action taken today was all we had available, but it was not enough,” he said. “The House employees who came forward deserve better, and so do the people of Oklahoma.”
They certainly do.
The outcome of the committee hearing was an embarrassment. What was the point of expending the resources on this farce if they weren’t going to actually recommend anything substantive, enforceable and that actually protects the public from the behavior they allege Williams to have perpetuated?
To his credit, Hilbert had previously implemented some of the committee’s recommendations that included stripping Williams of his committee assignments and leadership posts and moving his office to the fifth floor. Hilbert later said he’ll permanently implement the rest of the recommendations, which include no one-on-one contact with House staff. He said he couldn’t force Williams to resign or to complete sexual harassment and toxic workplace training.
So this bipartisan committee left the room metaphorically wringing their hands, and lamenting that they tried their best – but saying those hands were also metaphorically tied.
They might want you to think that, but it’s not true.
Lawmakers have the power to expel each other with a two-thirds vote, but first they need to put on their big boy pants and muster up the guts to kick out one of their own.
While they shouldn’t use that power lightly, if any behavior calls for expulsion, sexual harassment seems to.
I mean, good Lord, the House committee reported that they substantiated the claims of multiple victims. There was even urine involved. Ew.
So that begs the question: why aren’t House members willing to expel their own?
In recent years, they’ve never expelled anyone. They came closest with former Republican Rep. Dan Kirby. A different House investigatory committee found he had sexually harassed an employee and rightly recommended expulsion. Kirby, who denied the accusation, resigned before the House could consider it.
It’s clear House leadership and some Republicans lack the political willpower to police their own membership and friends.
Don’t believe me? Rep. David Hardin, R-Stilwell, inexplicably voted against 2 of 3 disciplinary recommendations. The only one he supported was the do-nothing public reprimand.
Then after the hearing, Hilbert made this comment about Williams: “I think one of the most frustrating things about this is just not acknowledging what has happened, or not having remorse and just kind of doubling down. Because I think with a lot of these things, remorse would have went a long way. But unfortunately, that was not the choice that he chose to make, and so here we are today.”
“Remorse” doesn’t ever excuse sexual harassment. That committee should convene anytime there’s substantiated behavior that would get someone fired in the private sector, regardless of whether someone apologizes.
These aren’t children still learning appropriate behavior.
These are adults who are supposed to be overseeing billions of public dollars. Part of their job is ensuring the people employed in our Capitol are safe from unwanted sexual conduct, regardless of whether the offender is an elected official.
The Capitol is also a place where tens of thousands of everyday Oklahomans visit their elected leaders. Oklahomans shouldn’t have to worry that someone is going to sexually harass them or wonder if lawmakers will sweep it under the rug to protect each other.
If lawmakers behave badly, Oklahomans should know there will be zero tolerance.
Sorry doesn’t cut it. Expulsion does.
We cannot let a good ol’ boys culture continue to thrive where there’s an attitude of “Gawrsh,” as Goofy likes to drawl when he’s surprised or dismayed, anytime an elected official behaves badly.
Williams’ accusers are probably still going to see him around the state Capitol, and this outcome is exactly why people are afraid to come forward.
Our Statehouse should not be allowed to operate like the worst fraternity houses that we see on the news where people are hazed, members are drunk and women are mistreated.
It seems like lawmakers’ motto is “voters will take care of problems.”
Why should victims have to wait for relief? Why should voters have to do this? And what happens if voters don’t?
If a lawmaker wins reelection, they’ll turn back up like a bad penny.
And now duly warned, taxpayers will be on the hook to pay to defend costly lawsuits for any future misconduct if lawmakers continue to refuse to protect us all from their colleagues.
Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: [email protected].
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