More specific details are coming out about the firing of the first-ever director of the WA State Office of Equity, one of Gov. Inslee’s pet projects.
Director was terminated without much fanfare
It’s ironic no formal press release was issued by the Governor’s official website, concerning the firing of Karen Johnson, Ph.D. from her position as the Director of the Office of Equity.
According to the source who broke the story, AM 770 KTTH’s Jason Rantz, she was let go on May 17th. Initially, a statement from the Governor’s office indicated it was due to a lack of office stability, turnover, and high vacancy rates to name a few issues. That statement was not included as part of Inslee’s releases on the media portion of his website.
However, information released by Rantz revealed a toxic culture within the office, pertaining to Johnson’s management style which allegedly included a lot of racist remarks and culturally insensitive behavior.
Now, more specifics have been discovered, including a statement from Dr. Johnson via the state’s investigation.
,referring to her difficulty in dealing with Hispanic-Mexican individuals:
“This may take some time for me because I generally distrust Mexican people. Mexican people have the option of being White when it is convenient for them.”
Apparently, that was the ‘final straw’ leading up to her termination.
A rather bumpy beginning for the office that is supposed to ensure that any and all state policies, procedures, and processes are free from racial bias, and have ‘true’ equity.
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