Capitol Staffers Applaud Ethics Committee for Upholding Integrity of Public Offices

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: The Political Workers Guild of Colorado: PWGColorado@gmail.com,‪‪‬ (720) 465-6060

Hailey Shea-McMoore, Steward, on behalf of Li Davis, Luke Doescher, Luis Echeverry, Lacey McGinty, and Molly Stawinoga

In Solidarity with: Colorado AFL-CIO, CWA CO/WY State(s) Council, CWA Local 7750, CWA Local 7777, CWA Local 7702, CWA Local 7707, CWA Local 7799, and DNG-CWA Local 37074

Capitol Staffers Applaud Ethics Committee for Upholding Integrity of Public Offices

The Political Workers Guild calls for continued discussions to improve accountability processes

DENVER, Feb. 18, 2025 – On January 20, 2025, the Political Workers Guild (PWG), and five directly affected signatories filed an ethics complaint regarding repeated retaliatory and cruel behavior by former Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis. On February 17, 2025, a day before the ethics committee was set to meet to review evidence and the Worker Protection Act was on final vote in the State Senate, Jaquez Lewis resigned effective immediately from the Senate. 

The PWG would first like to address the courage of each signed complainant, all those who came forward after the convening of the Senate Ethics Committee, and all those who have been negatively affected by Jaquez Lewis's behavior. The committee received copious amounts of evidence from individuals who have had negative experiences in her office, and it was the collective bravery of these individuals that allowed the committee to convene. Their experiences with Jaquez Lewis spanned over several different time periods and demonstrated a concerning pattern. 

We are grateful to all the members and staff of the Senate Ethics Committee for their diligent work, discretion, and empathetic approach to the complaint. We would like to highlight the comments made by the Committee Chair, Sen. Julie Gonzales, in regard to the committee and Senate Rule 41(a.5):  

Candidly, it shouldn’t take a senate rule to treat your staff, colleagues, and constituents with dignity and respect. It shouldn’t require a written Senate Rule to treat this office with the honor and respect it requires in service to one’s constituents. Except as we see all too often and evidenced by the plummeting trust in our institutions, I am grateful that it is written down and exists for us to uphold. - Gonzales, February 18, 2025 Hearing

We implore every single member of the General Assembly and the general public to reflect on the actions of Jaquez Lewis since she became Senator and the lack of a formal system to adequately address these concerns.

Lastly, the PWG was shocked by some of the comments made in Jaquez Lewis’ response letter but unsurprised by the lack of accountability taken. The denial, defensiveness, and attempts to pivot blame reflect the behavior experienced by many people who have worked with her over the years. She demeaned and dismissed the complainants' experiences. She made reference to the lack of a human resources system and formal complaint system. We agree on that point. If there had been a formal complaint system outside of the Office of Legislative Workplace Relations (OLWR) that noted these repeated behaviors and was able to escalate to removal without an ethics committee, then many people would have avoided the harmful working relationship, remained protected under confidentiality, and would not have been subject to the inflammatory comments Jaquez Lewis made in her response and attached letters, at least one of which has been alleged to be fabricated.

However, Senate Rule 41(a.5) was the only way her repeated patterns of behavior could be addressed and escalated. Other serious repercussions over the last two years such as: removal of a committee chair title, the loss of the privilege to have a state-paid legislative aide, and removal from all committees, unfortunately, did not result in accountability. We hope that the General Assembly truly reflects on how situations like this should be remedied and take into consideration the duty of public officials to uphold office with integrity, while also protecting anyone affected by their negative behavior.

To those who have had negative experiences with Jaquez Lewis, know you are not alone. We hope this serves as a reminder that public offices do stand with integrity, and in the cases they fail to do so, the people have the power to spur remediation.

Members of the PWG, in addition to the signed complainants, would like to help clarify the legislature's ethics process, so accountability and remedy do not take extensive time to occur at the expense of staffers who did not wish to discuss their harmful experiences publicly. We request a meeting with OLWR and leadership, who may already be working to remedy this issue, including Senate President James Coleman and House Speaker Julie McCluskie, by Feb. 28.

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The Political Workers Guild is an open-model minority union that represents legislative aides, campaign workers, and political organizers who want to fight for dignity and respect in our workplaces. We want to ensure that social and economic justice is reflected in the institutions, campaigns, and organizations we staff.