Gov. Polis has been busy this week dodging accountability and responsibility for the workplace shenanigans reportedly going on at the state’s dysfunctional Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
Instead of investigating troubling complaints about Mike Willis, the division’s Director of Emergency Management, the “state” let it be known to the Colorado Sun they plan to hire a consultant to evaluate the culture, structure, and effectiveness of the entire division.
And once again, Polis was not available for comment. Or at least we assume that’s the case. The Sun didn’t mention whether they too have been blown off by the governor’s office, as have other media covering The Story.
The state’s emergency chief is accused of cussing and berating employees and has twice been suspended.
These and more troubling allegations were brought to light this week by the Denver Post, and the controversy is causing Polis problems on the political front, as the Sun acknowledges:
Polis’ Republican opponent, Heidi Ganahl, issued a statement calling for the governor to hold Willis accountable. Colorado GOP Chairwoman Kristi Burton Brown blasted Polis for not speaking out.
“Coloradans deserve a governor who will fire individuals like this who create unacceptable, hostile work environments,” Burton Brown said in a written statement. “Polis’ lack of leadership in standing up for state employees against this kind of harassment is pathetic.”
Instead of taking responsibility, Polis punted the scandal to contract consultants who will check a bunch of bureaucratic boxes by conducting “an environmental scan,” whatever the Hell that is.
Leadership will be reviewed, middle management analyzed, office placement and supervisory lines examined, and a bullshit report issued to make it all go away until after the November election, we’re betting.
This is the consistent pattern that has emerged with Polis’s style of governing throughout his term — he so often refuses to govern at all.