Fagan resigns as Ninth District Representative following allegations of multiple violations

Representative Susan Fagan released a statement and submitted a letter to Governor Jay Inslee on April 30, announcing her resignation as the Ninth District Representative, following allegations of multiple violations.

The announcement came after allegations of fraud, improper use of state resources and pressuring employees began against her. Those ethic violations have been deemed “extremely serious” by House officials.

Fagan is being accused of inflating mileage reports to increase reimbursements, pressuring staff members into changing expense reports and using state resources for campaigning.

The allegations were presented to the Legislative Ethics Board in January for the three violations in a hand-written letter.

The letter states Fagan inflated her mileage by recording events she did not attend, as well as including campaign related trip expenses.

The letter also states she pressured employees to make changes in her expense reports.

Her resignation from the position of representative was effective on May 1.

Fagan released a statement Wednesday night concerning her decision to resign.

“It is with a sad heart that I am informing the governor by letter tomorrow that I am resigning, effective at the close of business Friday.

“This is not a decision I made lightly. It concludes a process that began about six months ago, when issues were raised regarding mileage reimbursements from the state. After careful review of my records, many of these concerns have been resolved. At the same time, I agreed that some were problematic, and thus I quickly reimbursed the state from my personal funds to address these expenses,” Fagan wrote.

“The problems stemming from my careless recordkeeping begin and end with me. I should have been more precise with my records, and I did not give my reimbursement reports the respect and attention they deserve. That is my fault. At no point did I try to derive personal gain from expense reimbursements.”

Fagan continued, “It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the people of the 9th District in the legislature. ‘An honor and a privilege’ is heard so often from public officials that it’s kind of cliché, but I truly have been humbled by this opportunity to serve the public.

‘The issues legislators grapple with are difficult, but I went about my work knowing I had strong support from the voters back home.

“With so many capable citizens and public servants in the 9th District, I’m confident that a strong, local leader will be found to take on this important role.

“It is disappointing and painful to end my public career this way. I had already decided, prior to the 2014 election, that this would be my last term, and that was a factor in my decision to not pursue this issue further. I know that my resignation is the better decision for the people of the 9th District, whom I have been so proud to serve,” she concluded.

The Republican precinct officers met Wednesday, May 6, in Ritzville at the American Legion Hall to select three nominees for the position.

Officers had as many as 10 candidates to chose from during the meeting, with results from the vote to be reported in next week’s edition of The Journal.

The commissioners representing the six counties in the Ninth Legislative District will determine the nominees to continue to this year’s primary and general election ballots.

The commissioners are set to meet on Friday, May 8, in Colfax to make their decision for the three nominees to represent the district on the ballot.

In both 2012 and 2014, Fagan ran unopposed for the legislative position.

She was first elected in a special election in 2009, before being reelected in 2010.