Dear Governor Christine Gregoire; State Senators and Representatives; Teamsters Local 117; Washington State Federation of State Employees (WFSE), and United tates Department of Justice:

We are 7,500 employees of the public safety agency known as the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC). We are also retired employees, employees’ families, and staff who were forced to resign, unlawfully terminated, or laid off. We are expressing our concerns in this Vote of No Confidence Petition against Prisons Director Dan J. Pacholke and Assistant Secretary Community Corrections Division Annemarie Aylward. These concerns are detailed in countless documented mismanagements resulting in disparate treatment, rape, discrimination, selective enforcement, unfair/harsh discipline, favoritism, cronyism, fraud, waste, abuse, cover-ups, and lack of accountability and transparency at the HQ and field management levels within our department. Prisons Director Dan J. Pacholke, Assistant Secretary Community Corrections Division Annemarie Aylward, Correctional Industries Director Lyle Morse, Deputy Director of Prisons Command “B” Earl Wright, Deputy Director of Prisons Command “A” Scott R. Franks, are those named among others, responsible for managing Community Corrections, Prisons, and Correctional Industries in a manner detrimental to Community Corrections and Prison employees, to the public of which we serve, local law enforcement, and the incarcerated offender population. We have addressed our concerns through multiple channels dating back several years prior to this Vote of No Confidence Petition utlizing and involving many state agencies, such as our own Internal Discrimination Complaint System (IDC) and Workplace Investigation Unit, Washington State Human Rights Commission, Department of Social Health and Services (DSHS), Department of Corrections Labor Relations, Department of Personnel, State Attorney General’s Office, and State Auditor’s Office, only to have the facts provided in our complaints dismissed and retaliation to follow. After each complaint there are documented cases of retaliation against those who dared speak up and cover-ups to protect those involved in the wrongdoing. The Vote of No Confidence Petition reveals the lack of leadership of Prisons Director Dan Pacholke and Assistant Secretary Community Corrections Division Annemarie Aylward, the deficiency of management ability of other DOC officials – and most importantly demonstrates that morale has reached an all time low. Therefore, we the undersigned who are Department of Corrections Community and Prison employees, retired, resigned, laid-off, unlawfully terminated, veterans, and family members request that Washington State Department of Corrections officials responsible be removed from their positions in order to move towards reforming Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) and Correctional Industries (CI). We realize that this is not an easy task to undertake, however, this is the option we are left to pursue and call for your support in order to stop the deliberate and unequivocal abuse of power. Additionally, the employee’s signatures on this petition are not to be retaliated against by Prisons Director Dan J. Pacholke, other Department of Corrections officials, or any other Washington State personnel for coming forward in an attempt to voice concern on the present state of affairs within the Department of Corrections.
Others who are responsible:

Human Resources Program Manager Lorna Ovena Human Resources Regional Manager Karen Hopper Human Resources Regional Manager Lois R. Bergstrom Human Resources Consultant Max Carrera Human Resources Workplace Investigator Cindy Greenslitt Field Administrator Debra Conner Field Administrator Ron Peterson Community Corrections Supervisor Todd Wiggs Community Corrections Supervisor Ben Brink Program Manager Family Services Joenne McGerr Chief of Emergency Operations Tomas P. Fithian Superintendent Eleanor Vernell Superintendent Patrick Glebe Superintendent Douglas O. Cole Superintendent Stephen D. Sinclair Superintendent Wanda McRae Superintendent Margaret M. Gilbert Superintendent Scott J. Russell Associate Superintendent David T Flynn Correctional Program Manager Norman Caldwell Correctional Unit Supervisor Reed P. Leisinger Director of Communications Belinda D. Stewart Labor Relations Manager Angela Roberts Former Firearms Trainer Al Strup Correctional Industries Consumables Tom Beierle Correctional Program Manager Tracy L. Hitson

Sincerely,
The Concerned Citizens of Washington State