The Alaska Legislative Council voted Tuesday to allow Sen. David Wilson to view a video of an incident in June that sparked concerns about sexual harassment and other workplace harassment in the Capitol. The video was not made public.
The incident involved actions that the Wasilla lawmaker allegedly took outside of the door of a meeting of members of the House majority caucus. Two news reporters say they saw Wilson briefly hold his cellphone between the legs of a female legislative staff member. The staff member didn’t report the incident, and Wilson denies he acted improperly.
Wilson asked to see the security video. The council has a policy that denies any public access to such videos, but allows lawmakers to view them with council approval.
Sitka Sen. Bert Stedman made the motion granting his request.
“Mr. Chairman, I move that Legislative Council approve Sen. Wilson’s request for access to materials made confidential by the Legislative Council records policy and that he may have counsel present if desired,” Stedman said.
Before its unanimous vote, the council had spent five hours in a meeting closed to the public to discuss the matter and other subjects.
The council also voted to allow the Legislative Affairs Agency to conduct an internal investigation. House Rules Committee Chairwoman Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux cited the incident in supporting an update of the Legislature’s harassment policy.
Juneau Rep. Sam Kito III, the council’s chairman, said he’ll form a subcommittee to recommend policy changes related to sexual harassment and other workplace harassment. He didn’t appoint the subcommittee members.
Andrew Kitchenman is the state government and politics reporter for Alaska Public Media and KTOO in Juneau. Reach him at akitchenman@alaskapublic.org.
