Click the graphic to access the Noisy Waters Northwest blog post, “State senator Doug Ericksen’s EPA employment: An ethical and potential legal dilemma”

September 19, 2018  Dena Jensen

Here’s #25 in the series of Doug’s Got to Go posts. And this one provides an example of Republican State Senator Doug Ericksen’s bold-faced telling of unbelievable nonsense.

Thanks to FOIA records, we know that upon receiving his temporary job with the Environmental Protection Agency in 2017, to which Senator Ericksen was appointed by his apparent hero President Trump, Senator Ericksen received a January 19, 2017 EPA employment letter, where, on page one of the letter, it stated his annual salary would be $161,900.00.

Despite this, Senator Ericksen claimed in numerous media reports over the course of a couple months that he did not know how much money he was making working for the EPA. One of these claims of ignorance was made to EarthFix reporter Tony Schick who recounted his exchange with Senator Ericksen in a March 17, 2017 article, “Hey Sen. Ericksen, here’s what Trump is paying you”:

“When reached for comment by phone on Thursday, Ericksen said he still did not know how much the EPA was paying him.

“’I’m still not really aware, to be honest with you. I would do the job for free,’ he said.

“When asked how it was a possible a news organization could obtain copies of his earnings statements before he ever became aware of the earnings, Ericksen said he saw salary ranges and filled out paperwork for direct deposit but never looked at the amount.”

In Sandy Robson’s attached April 2017 report she offers this perspective:

“Is the public really expected to believe that Senator Ericksen never read his January 19 EPA employment letter in which his annual salary was clearly stated? And, once the senator knew his constituents and the press wanted to know his EPA salary, why would he continue to refuse to access that information for them?  At the very least he could have given them a reasonable explanation for why he would not share that information.

“Ericksen’s January 19 employment letter stated that his, ‘appointment will be effective January 21, 2017 not to exceed May, 20, 2017,’ and that his immediate supervisor at that time would be then-Acting Administrator Catherine McCabe (Scott Pruitt was later confirmed as EPA Administrator on February 17, 2017). The letter also informed Ericksen that in his EPA position he will work a full-time schedule. I don’t understand how Ericksen can work full-time at the EPA and still work as a State Senator during the legislative session which would require his presence each day during the work week to conduct the legislative duties he was elected to perform.”