SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A former legislator has told an Oregon House committee that he was bullied by then-House Speaker Tina Kotek, the Democratic candidate for governor, to the point that he suffers from PTSD.
The hearing, held remotely via video, was emotional, with another former legislator testifying that the complainant, former Rep. Diego Hernandez, tried to kill himself recently.
The Associated Press reports that Kotek, for her part, accused Hernandez of deflecting.
“Rep. Hernandez made this unfounded complaint a few days after an independent investigator concluded that he created a hostile work environment for women at the Oregon State Capitol,” Kotek reportedly wrote to the committee.
An independent investigation exonerated Kotek.
The drama comes as Kotek, a Portland progressive who was the longest-serving speaker of the House in Oregon history, is in a tight race for governor against Republican nominee Christine Drazan and independent Betsy Johnson.
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Central Oregon Daily News contributed to this report.
