Complainants confident in Senate leadership’s letter of reprimand

CHEYENNE — Two members of the public who filed ethics complaints against a Laramie County lawmaker said Thursday they are confident in the response by Senate leadership.
 
Sen. Anthony Bouchard, R-Cheyenne, received a letter of reprimand Wednesday that outlined two separate complaints against him this general session and stated there would be no tolerance for any further substantiated complaints against him for “threatening or profane comments you make against members of the public or your Senate colleagues.”
 
Senate President Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, said Bouchard was provided with the complaints and offered the opportunity to respond, and without any response refuting the allegations, they had to be assumed true. He said the facts in the complaints are concerning, and members of the public should never be personally attacked for honest testimony provided before a legislative committee.
 
“While you may not agree, a member of the Wyoming Senate is held to a high standard of decorum while communicating with members of the public,” Driskill wrote. “Troubling me even further is the fact that during the last session, a member of the public filed a complaint against you for your abusive power during legislative committee meetings. “Three complaints against you for very similar behavior are three complaints too many.” He said that if Bouchard received a similar complaint that is substantiated in the future, he will forward it to the full Senate to consider one or more potential disciplinary actions against him.The options provided were censure, removal from committees or expulsion from the Senate.
 
“I would hope you take my statements in this letter to heart,” Driskill concluded. “While I understand your passion for legislation you have worked on and sponsored, that passion does not excuse disrespectful and abusive behavior.”
 
Bouchard confirmed with the Wyoming Tribune Eagle that he was sent the letter, but said he had no further comment for the time being.
 
“With all the legislation going through, I need to stay focused on that right now,” he said Thursday in between the House and Senate chambers.  “Next week will be a better time to talk about this.”
 
The complaints Driskill refers to were made by Civics307 lobbyist Gail Symons on Feb. 24 and advanced registered nurse practitioner Jennifer James this past weekend.
 
Symons wrote in an email to Driskill that she believed the words of a sitting state senator reflect directly on the body, and attached screenshots of Bouchard using his public politician Facebook page to post “abusive and inflammatory language against members of the public exercising their First Amendment rights.”
 
She said the screenshots came from an individual who expressed serious concern that they would be subject to retaliation by Bouchard and the Wyoming Gun Owners organization. Symons said she was not as vulnerable as others and said she was “committed to standing up personally against bullying.”
 
“That retaliation has been observed previously as verbal and in social media, including doxing,” she wrote to Driskill. Doxing is defined as “the action or process of searching for and publishing private or identifying information about a particular individual on the internet, typically with malicious intent.”
 
Symons told the WTE that she didn’t approve of the language and tone he used in comments or posts, such as calling members of the Wyoming Medical Society “Doctors for grooming,” or “veiled threats of violence against Republican legislators” on his social media account representing his elected office.
 
“It was because it was his official account, as Sen. Anthony Bouchard, during the Legislature, against a group that was exercising their First Amendment rights. Whether I agreed with him or not, that was totally irrelevant,” she said. “But mostly, it was because there has been this atmosphere created of intimidation, and that’s not healthy for the process.”
 
James said in a statement that she sent in her complaint after Bouchard sent an unprompted text to her personal cell phone calling her a “f***ing idiot” on Saturday night. She said it was because she offered medical standard guidelines in opposition of Bouchard’s Senate File 144 earlier in the week.
 

 
Although Bouchard has worked on legislation in the past with former Republican state Sen.Tom James, who is married to the complainant, she said she had no relationship with him outside of his elected duties. She said she doesn’t follow any of his social media, and her husband is not personal friends with the Cheyenne lawmaker “as many folks assume.”
 
James said Bouchard had never acted in this manner toward her before. She previously worked with him on policy for a bill addressing health care professionals’ right to prescribe medication in January, and said she called him to receive background information. She said after he began their discussion to offer her clinical expertise, he abruptly hung up on her after letting her know he was bringing forward SF 144.
 
“Prior to this call in January, I had communicated to him regarding a gun ordinance problem in Rock Springs last summer, which he helped resolve,” she said.
 
She said the key fact in her complaint was that he is an elected official and she is a constituent. She said she is not another politician or friend. 
 
As a member of the public, she said, it is “simply unacceptable, unprompted behavior, especially in Wyoming.”
 
“Any elected official is held to higher standards. I expect to provide public testimony without fear of reprisals or repercussions. In America, we still have our First Amendment rights. Our political system process allows the public to comment freely,” she said. “Imagine how many people would feel comfortable to testify if they knew legislators would be harassing them afterward? None at all.”
 
While there have been lawmakers who expressed they believe there should be further action taken, both James and Symons said they trust the decision made by Driskill.
 
James told the WTE she was comfortable with his response and “confident in decisions on this matter.” She said she believed the letter was sufficient and didn’t request further action, but she suspects the Senate will review its defined ethics complaints process, given the number of recent complaints.
 
Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, is a member of the Senate Rules Committee and previously confirmed the chamber planned to reevaluate the process and find a system that works better.
 
Symons recognized there were those who said it should have been brought to the floor, but there is a process. She said there are rules and traditions.
Once she submitted the complaint, the lobbyist said she let go of it.
 
“The people whose responsibility it is to evaluate the complaint, see if it has merit, and if it does, then bring the right people in to make a decision on what the proper response is — that’s up to them,” she said. “I had no expectations of what would be done. I literally was driven solely by ensuring that behavior was called out for whatever the appropriate action.”
 
This story was published on Mar. 3, 2023.