Inslee's effort to cut pay, oust regulatory leader falters
Gov. Jay Inslee can’t get the embattled chair of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission to resign.
Nor, apparently, can he reduce the salary or directly discipline David Danner for his use of a racial slur and purportedly tepid response to employee allegations of bullying, harassment and discrimination in the regulatory agency.
But the governor’s efforts to do those things could wind up costing state taxpayers, it appears.
Danner filed a tort claim May 10 seeking an unspecified amount of damages for “defamation and false light” for actions aimed at ousting or punishing him taken by Inslee’s top advisors since December. Such claims are a precursor to a lawsuit.
https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/06/10/inslees-effort-to-cut-pay-oust-regulatory-leader-falters/