Twin Transit Employee Makes Allegations Against Director

Claims: Staffer Attends Board Meeting to Air Grievances

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A three-year employee of Twin Transit has levied allegations of harassment and policy violations against the authority’s top leader, Executive Director Joe Clark, saying he acted in a retaliatory manner against her, hired friends and curtailed hiring processes.

Lesley Jackson, operations supervisor at the authority, aired out the allegations at a Tuesday morning board meeting during the public commenting period.

She read from a prepared letter, which was sent to board members and subsequently obtained by The Chronicle through a public records request.

“Twin Transit has become a fast sinking ship. The nepotism has created a hostile work environment for anyone that was not hand-picked by Joe. Anyone who questions Joe or his picks is retaliated against,” she told the board. “The company shifts daily with new job duties, new hires, new plans. The disconnect with the drivers is felt (so) strongly they do not even know how many office staff there are or when he hires new people.”

Following prior personal disputes, Jackson said she was placed on administrative leave on April 1 due to claims she had not done her job in eight months following the hiring of a new operations manager, who overtook Jackson’s responsibilities.

She claims she was given no feedback, and that a January review where Clark and operations director Melissa Shoemaker were in attendance resulted in positive praise without mentioning the dispute.

Jackson said she returned to work on May 3 after retaining an attorney, but claims Clark has continued to act in a retaliatory manner. She said she also no longer works the hours described in her job.

“I have no office, no desk, no work station, all of my desk items were literally dumped in a box. My current job duties do not line up with my job description. I have been stripped of all supervisor duties, I am simply only allowed to ride buses all day,” she wrote in her letter.

Andrea Culletto, Twin Transit’s community relations director, said the transit authority was unable to comment on human resource conflicts.

“The organization and the board will be determining next steps regarding Ms. Jackson’s allegations. At this time, I do not have a comment,” wrote Rebecca Staebler, chair of the authority board and a Centralia city councilor, in an email.

Twin Transit’s board is made up of three elected officials: one from each of the two cities it serves and a county representative.

The Chronicle also reached out to Jackson for further comment and clarification by way of an active email address. That email was not returned as of early Wednesday afternoon.



The Twin Transit supervisor also alleges a pattern of harassment and retaliation by Clark that has been used against other employees. Clark, she alleges in past circumstances, has stripped employees of their job duties and later fired them for not complying.

She alleges this pattern has happened to at least eight other workers.

“This cycle has been witnessed by all staff past and present, in addition to the yelling, screaming, slamming doors and throwing of personal items by the executive director Joe Clark,” she wrote.

Jackson also alleges wrongdoing with regard to Twin Transit’s hiring process. She said Clark has been known to hire close associates or friends for positions, sometimes paying those new workers at a rate higher than their supervisors.

She claims that nine of the 11 staff hired under Clark’s two-year tenure have been direct hires. She also alleged a similar mindset around the authority’s process in procuring real estate and construction bids, though she gave no specific details.

Jackson wrote that she suspected she became a target after she went to Shoemaker with questions about “blatant policy violations” in continuing to hire close friends of Clark’s, specifically those with no transit experience or a commercial driver’s license.

She said she spoke up after Clark said he wanted to “hire a buddy” for a recent fueler washer position the authority was looking to fill. Shoemaker, Jackson’s superior, reportedly told Clark to post the job to be safe.

Jackson claims she was placed on leave three days later.

She told the board she’d decided to come forward with her concerns publicly after Shoemaker was beginning to be unreachable.

“These issues are starting to become apparent to the local community and beyond. Joe claims he has the board wrapped around his finger. My trust is in this board of elected public officials that they will investigate and address these issues promptly,” she wrote.

This appears to be the first major dispute levied against Twin Transit leadership since Clark, a former Chehalis school board member, took over in May 2019. More than 60 applications were received for the position, and Clark was praised as a community leader that would bring a seachange to the transit authority that had been embroiled in dysfunction.

Under Clark’s authority, Twin Transit has seen a noticeable shift in service with new offerings to Thurston County, among others, implementing new renewable transit technology into its routes, and by pursuing grant opportunities.