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Ethics subcommittee considers repercussions for Sen. Mimi Stewart ‘screaming at’ staffer, calling her ‘stupid’

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Jul. 25—Discussions over whether emailing someone in all capital letters equates to yelling and if calling someone “stupid” should be labeled as harassment took center stage during a state senator’s public ethics hearing Friday.

The issue at hand is a complaint filed against Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, by a legislative staffer alleging Stewart violated the Legislature’s anti-harassment policy earlier this year by yelling at her and using “pejorative” language, according to the investigator on the case.

As of Friday evening, it was unclear whether the complaint would result in repercussions for Stewart, as the legislative ethics subcommittee moved to closed session to vote on whether the conduct should result in sanctions.

A written order of the committee’s decision is “forthcoming,” according to a social media post by the Legislature. Repercussions could include reprimand, censure or expulsion.

None of the subcommittee members, comprised of six senators from both political parties and a retired New Mexico Supreme Court justice, nor the Legislative Council Service director responded to an email from the Journal inquiring about the final decision and why the vote happened in closed session.

It’s rare for an anti-harassment policy complaint to progress this far into the complaint procedure.

Michelle Jaschke, a capital outlay programs coordinator with the Legislative Council Service, in late February filed the complaint over communications that happened between her and Stewart on Feb. 27, according to investigator Lorna Wiggins. She finished a report on the complaint in May, which is not public.

The afternoon of Feb. 27, Jaschke emailed Stewart indicating she hadn’t received the senator’s capital outlay funding sheet, Wiggins said. Stewart responded with an email that said, “WE SENT IT TO YOU YESTERDAY AFTERNOON AROUND 3:30. From my secretary, Fatima Gutierrez,” according to a screenshot of the email Stewart’s lawyer presented online.

Wiggins said shortly after the email communications, Stewart called Jaschke, “screaming at her using what she deemed pejorative language, including calling her stupid for not knowing that the sheet had already been turned in.”

Afterward, late in the evening, Stewart apologized via email, according to the public hearing.

Jaschke took off work Friday and Saturday because of the communications, “angry and upset at the interaction,” Wiggins said, and lost sleep over it.

“It was severe enough that the reporting party was emotionally upset and was required to take sick time, was unable to perform her duties until Sunday of that weekend, during a very busy time of the Legislature,” Wiggins said.

Jaschke didn’t respond to inquiries from the Journal.

Harassment or not?

Harassment, as defined in the Legislature’s anti-harassment policy, involves “conduct, comment or display that a reasonable person would find insulting, intimidating, humiliating, hurtful, demeaning or degrading or that causes offense, discomfort or personal humiliation or embarrassment.”

“I concluded that (Stewart’s conduct) would fall within the anti-harassment policy, even if I did not find that such conduct was based on the reporting party’s gender, race, religion or other protected characteristic,” Wiggins said.

Stewart’s attorney Ray Vargas disputed that the communications should be defined as harassment. While “impolite” and “downright rude,” it wasn’t harassment, he said.

“These were simply comments of a frustrated legislator in a heated moment during a very important and stressful part of the legislative process,” Vargas said, referencing the $4 million in capital outlay requests on the line for Stewart’s district.

Stewart didn’t respond to a call from the Journal but provided a statement in the hearing that acknowledged she failed to treat Jaschke with kindness, calmness and respect.

“When I was informed of her reaction, I sent her a letter of apology. I stand by that apology,” Stewart said in her statement, read aloud in the meeting by Vargas. “I plan to continue to monitor my reactions to others. I’m seeing a mental health counselor now to ensure my kindness and respect for others is on solid footing, and I’m committed to always learning from others and growing in my ability to help others.”

Due to the secretive nature of the process, it’s unclear how many ethics complaints have been filed against legislators in recent years. But former Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, D-Albuquerque, faced some heat following a sexual harassment complaint filed by a lobbyist, despite the state Ethics Commission dismissing the complaint on grounds of no probable cause.

Ivey-Soto lost the Senate seat he held for years in the following election cycle and the case never progressed to a public hearing.



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