Juneau – The House Rules Committee met earlier today to review the results of the investigation into allegations of sexual harassment by former Representative Dean Westlake against a legislative staffer. Westlake resigned last month as the State Representative for District 40. During today’s meeting, the members of the Rules Committee agreed to release the report of the investigation.

“I felt it was important to release the results of the harassment investigation to demonstrate our commitment to transparency and accountability,” said House Rules Committee Chair Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux (R-Anchorage). “Dean Westlake acted inappropriately towards multiple staffers, and he rightly resigned. This entire incident is just further proof that the Alaska Legislature’s harassment policy is long overdue for an update and that everybody in the legislature, whether they be an elected lawmaker or a staffer, is accountable to the people of Alaska and the people want assurances that the Alaska Legislature takes the issue of harassment seriously.”[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]The report outlining the results of the investigation into the actions of Dean Westlake excludes the names of those who brought forward allegations of inappropriate behavior to protect the rights of victims.

“The ongoing national conversation about sexual harassment is long overdue. The incidents detailed in the report we released today were unfortunate and should not have happened, but they did,” said Rep. Louise Stutes (R-Kodiak), a member of the House Rules Committee. “We all need to learn from what happened and go forward with the goal of making harassment a thing of the past in the Alaska Legislature.”

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