OLYMPIA, Wash. - State Rep. Susan Fagan sent has sent Gov. Jay Inlsee her letter of resignation following allegations that she falsified travel expense forms.
House Republican Chief of Staff hand delivered the letter to the governor's office on Thursday afternoon, Inslee spokeswoman Jaime Smith said. The resignation is effective Friday.
In the letter, the Pullman Republican says that it was "an honor and privilege" to serve the 9th Legislative District and urged a swift appointment of a replacement so that her constituents have representation during the current special session.
An investigation by the state's Legislative Ethics Board was launched in January. Republican leadership met with Fagan on Friday to ask her to resign. In addition to resigning, Fagan has agreed to pay any remaining funds due back to the state, Baker wrote. The legislative ethics board investigation against her is still ongoing.
Fagan released the following statement on Thursday:
It is with a sad heart that I am informing the governor by letter tomorrow that I am resigning, effective at the close of business Friday.
This is not a decision I made lightly. It concludes a process that began about six months ago, when issues were raised regarding mileage reimbursements from the state. After careful review of my records, many of these concerns have been resolved. At the same time, I agreed that some were problematic, and thus I quickly reimbursed the state from my personal funds to address these expenses.
The problems stemming from my careless recordkeeping begin and end with me. I should have been more precise with my records, and I did not give my reimbursement reports the respect and attention they deserve. That is my fault. At no point did I try to derive personal gain from expense reimbursements.
It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the people of the 9th District in the legislature. "An honor and a privilege" is heard so often from public officials that it's kind of cliché, but I truly have been humbled by this opportunity to serve the public. The issues legislators grapple with are difficult, but I went about my work knowing I had strong support from the voters back home.
With so many capable citizens and public servants in the 9th District, I'm confident that a strong, local leader will be found to take on this important role.
It is disappointing and painful to end my public career this way. I had already decided, prior to the 2014 election, that this would be my last term, and that was a factor in my decision to not pursue this issue further. I know that my resignation is the better decision for the people of the 9th District, whom I have been so proud to serve.
