Harassment alleged in House

State lawmaker says Democratic leader bullied him in rift that reaches floor.

State Rep. Donald Valdez is accusing a Democratic leader in the Colorado House of harassment and bullying following a rift that apparently began Wednesday over legislation seeking to give homeless people legal leeway on where they sleep.

In an extended, emotional speech on the House floor Friday morning, Valdez, D-La Jara, suggested that he may even seek a resolution to expel the legislator, Rep. Jovan Melton, D-Aurora.

“What happened Wednesday — nobody should be harassed, nobody should be bullied,” Valdez told The Denver Post afterward. “Nobody should get in your face. … Nobody should call you out multiple times.”

The new accusations come as the state Capitol is on edge from the fallout of an ongoing sexual harassment scandal that has embroiled several lawmakers in both parties and both chambers. Former Rep. Steve Lebsock, a onetime Thornton Democrat, was expelled — the first lawmaker to be ejected from the legislature in more than 100 years — this month after several women made sexual harassment complaints against him.

Melton, the House’s majority deputy whip, declined to comment at length on the situation, saying “as a member of leadership, there’s a protocol that we follow in the House.” He called it unfortunate that the protocol hasn’t been followed.

Valdez and Melton clashed Wednesday afternoon during a hearing over the so-called “Colorado Right to Rest Act.” Melton was a sponsor of the bill — which failed — alongside Democratic Rep. Joe Salazar of Thornton.

As Melton and Salazar were introducing their legislation to the House Local Government Committee, Valdez, a member of the panel, raised concerns about recent changes made to the measure and the amount of time he had to review them. An irked Melton replied, “I’m not sure exactly what your concern is.”

Valdez then asked Salazar a question about hunting, because Salazar spoke about his time spent outdoors as he presented the measure. “What does that have to do with the bill?” Melton asked several times.

It appears the clash spilled out of the committee into a later argument, witnessed by several lawmakers, and Friday morning Valdez addressed the rift on the floor. A reporter from the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel said on Twitter that he saw sergeants-at-arms separating the two outside House Democratic leadership’s offices.

“There was an incident that happened, and as one of our

members stated, the culture has to change with us in here in the General Assembly, with all legislators,” he said. “And yes, I’ve talked to some individuals, human resource director, and yes I’ve talked to others. And I’m not going to sit by and not say nothing. I’m going to stand up, and enough is enough of the harassment.”

A human resource director was hired as a response to the sexual harassment scandal. As Valdez was speaking to The Denver Post on Friday, House Majority Leader KC Becker, DBoulder, summoned him away for a meeting.

Becker and House Speaker Crisanta Duran, D-Denver, said in a joint statement that they were “working to mediate the situation and taking the advice of the new HR director on how best to respond.”

“In addressing the issue, we want to re-emphasize for all members the need to treat one another professionally and respectfully,” they also said.