By: Michael Achterling (ND Monitor)
North Dakota Rep. Jeremy Olson resigned his legislative seat Monday, a decision legislative leaders said was connected to a harassment complaint filed against the lawmaker.
Olson, a Republican from Arnegard, wrote in a brief letter that he believes resigning “is in the best interest of the Legislature, my constituents, and my family.”
House Majority Leader Rep. Mike Lefor, R-Dickinson, said he was informed that a complaint was filed against Olson on Friday, the last day of the legislative session. Lefor said the complaint was filed with Senate Minority Leader Sen. Kathy Hogan, D-Fargo.
Hogan said the harassment complaint was withdrawn Sunday after the person who filed it learned about Olson’s resignation. She added the withdrawn complaint will not become a public record.
“People who have been in these situations are very hesitant to complain because of the public record issues,” Hogan said. “And that’s why the person pulled the complaint and doesn’t want a full investigation. And it’s not necessary because Jeremy (Olson) is gone.”
At 12:45 a.m. Saturday, as lawmakers were wrapping up the legislative session, a bipartisan panel of lawmakers met in a closed-door executive session to discuss a complaint related to the Legislature’s workplace harassment policy, according to a meeting agenda. The agenda does not say who the complaint is about.
Lefor said he spoke with Olson over the weekend about the complaint filed against him. Lefor said he could not discuss details of the complaint.
“During that conversation, he determined that it was in the best interest of all for him to resign,” Lefor said. “And I agreed with that.”
On April 29, Olson resigned as House majority caucus leader, citing the demands of his work schedule.
The resignation followed a conversation a group of lawmakers had with legislative leadership about Olson weeks earlier.
Rep. Lori VanWinkle, R-Minot, said she observed Olson kiss a legislative employee on the cheek at an event in March. After the incident, she said other lawmakers told her about other alleged inappropriate sexual behavior involving Olson. That prompted four lawmakers to bring their concerns directly to Lefor, VanWinkle said in a text message to the North Dakota Monitor.
“The group asked leader Lefor to disallow Jeremy (Olson) from running as a candidate for Legislative Management,” VanWinkle said. “And then asked that he eventually step down from caucus leadership.”
Olson, in an interview Monday with the North Dakota Monitor, said he never saw the complaint that was filed against him.
“In this world right now, you are guilty until proven innocent,” Olson said. “And the faceless keyboard warriors will just jump on that.”
When asked about the allegation that he kissed an employee, Olson said, “I don’t remember anything like that, honestly. But honestly, I’m not going to respond to rumors. I don’t want to go there.”
Olson said he felt targeted by rumors and the complaint in the closing days of the legislative session. He said he decided to resign because “my family didn’t sign up for that sort of stuff.”
Without citing examples, he said there are political groups working in the state that are trying to “take down” some lawmakers.
Olson, who represents District 26 in northwest North Dakota, has served for two legislative sessions. It will now be up to District 26 Republicans to appoint a replacement to serve the remainder of Olson’s term, which goes through 2028.
North Dakota lawmakers last year worked to update the Legislature’s workplace harassment policy, citing an uptick in complaints to the Ethics Commission.
Hogan said she believes the complaint process worked well in this case.
“There was obviously a serious concern about behavior, and I think particularly for people reporting, you have to assure that they know the process and assuring that you don’t assume one side is innocent or guilty,” Hogan said. “You have to really maintain a balance of protecting both sets of rights.”
In 2021, the North Dakota House expelled Rep. Luke Simons, R-Dickinson, related to harassment allegations. Hogan said the Simons allegations were the first time the legislative workplace harassment policy was used.
Lefor said he thinks the process worked well, but added that leaders may talk about how to improve the process in the future.
“As legislative leaders, we want to make absolutely sure that the assembly is a place where everyone feels safe, feels respected, feels supported. And that’s why we have these procedures in place to address these things and make sure it’s a fair and transparent process,” Lefor said. “That’s what happened here. Those procedures were followed.”
