Colorado House member faced investigation over ignored harassment complaint, aide mistreatment

A Colorado Springs lawmaker has been repeatedly accused of retaliating against and mistreating her legislative aides, including documented allegations that she ignored an aide’s complaint of sexual harassment by a relative of the lawmaker last year, The Denver Post has confirmed.

At the direction of a bipartisan legislative committee, Rep. Regina English was quietly investigated by a third party last year after a former aide accused English, a Democrat, of ignoring the harassment and of pushing her in a Capitol bathroom during an argument on the last day of the session in May. The Post spoke with four people interviewed by investigators; reviewed a copy of the aide’s formal complaint and a January letter House Speaker Julie McCluskie sent to the aide about the investigation; and obtained documents in which two other former aides accused English of mistreatment.

English, who denies the allegations, is at least the second state legislator to be investigated for allegedly mistreating aides in the past year. In February, Sonya Jaquez Lewis resigned her Senate seat amid a legislative investigation into her alleged conduct toward her staff, which was initially reported by The Post a year ago.

In light of recent concerns raised by legislative aides, McCluskie told The Post that the legislature’s workplace harassment and expectation policies may need closer examination. Though the committee overseeing the probe into English’s behavior determined she hadn’t violated legislative policy, its members still expressed concerns about the allegations that fell outside of existing guidelines.

The allegations against English by the aide who spoke to The Post followed several months of what the aide described in interviews as isolating and inappropriate behavior, including English’s use of slurs against LGBTQ+ people, direction that the aide not associate with anyone else in the Capitol, and demands on the aide’s time made by English and her family.

The former aide said English required her to drive a member of English’s family from Colorado Springs to the Capitol on a regular basis, an allegation supported by texts from the lawmaker. After the aide ignored those requests on the last day of the 2024 session, another of English’s relatives confronted the aide in the Capitol, prompting the later argument in the bathroom.

It was on one of those drives that the lawmaker’s relative allegedly touched the aide inappropriately. The aide has since left the state. She spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect her privacy.

“This whole situation has really … it makes me paranoid. It makes me hypervigilant. It really messes up my view of building relationships,” the former aide told The Post.

English declined to comment earlier this month when a reporter asked to talk about allegations made by a former aide. When asked if she’d been investigated, she walked away and left the House chamber.

In response to a follow-up email, English declined an interview request and said that “none of these allegations were true.”

“I believe that (the former aide) is a very sick individual respectfully, and I hope she receives the mental help she needs, because for someone to make up lies as humiliating and (far-fetched) as she did there is a mental disconnect,” wrote English, who’s in her second term in the Capitol.

Last year, after the argument in the Capitol bathroom, the lawmaker told the Colorado State Patrol that her aide had threatened her, according to a patrol report. The aide, who declined to speak with troopers, denied that characterization.

Committee: No violations, but “concerns”

The legislature’s investigation into English began after the workplace harassment committee unanimously ruled in July that the allegations against her fell “within the scope of workplace harassment.”

The inquiry ended in December without a finding of violations — but the committee still expressed concern about the lawmaker.

The committee members determined that, though they hadn’t seen “enough evidence that the workplace harassment policy was violated … we have concerns that fall outside the purview of this workplace harassment committee,” the group’s vice chair, Rep. Karen McCormick, said during the meeting.

The committee, whose work is confidential, did not use English’s name or the name of her aide, nor did it provide any details about the allegations or investigation. The committee voted unanimously to offer English’s aide “other options” and to inform House leadership about “our concerns that fall outside of our committee regarding workplace expectations.”

The General Assembly’s workplace harassment policy is specific to “harassment, including sexual harassment, by members, legislative employees, and third parties” who work in the Capitol, like lobbyists or reporters. Unlike the Senate, the House does not have an ethics committee empowered to more broadly police alleged misconduct by lawmakers.

Jaquez Lewis was investigated for alleged violations of Senate ethics rules.

The Post asked McCluskie how English’s alleged conduct was significant enough to require the attention of leadership but wasn’t sufficient to violate House policy. McCluskie declined to discuss or confirm any details related to the investigation.

But she said more generally, while referencing the Jaquez Lewis matter: “I do think, in light of what we’ve seen now in the Senate, with a member and concerns that were raised by aides in that chamber, that over this interim it may be time for us to revisit these policies to ensure that they continue to work effectively for both those who feel there’s been a violation … and also for those who feel they’ve been complained against.”

Legislative leadership also directed staff members to prepare a bill that would expand the Capitol’s fledging workplace relations office into something closer to a human resources department — a change previously sought by legislative aides. But McCluskie and other leaders said earlier this month that the expansion process would move slowly to ensure its costs don’t put too much pressure on a cash-strapped budget.

Claims made by multiple aides

English has had at least seven legislative aides during her first two years in the legislature, an unusually fast turnover rate even in the high-pressure environment of the Capitol; one former Capitol staff member likened the lawmaker’s office to a “revolving door.”

After one of English’s first aides raised concerns to House staff, the aide was directed to work remotely and then was fired in early 2023, according to messages obtained by The Post. That aide accused English of retaliating against her for filing an informal complaint, according to a copy of the aide’s separation form.

The aide declined to comment.

English’s second aide, who did not return a message seeking comment, quit shortly after, in spring 2023. In her resignation letter, which was obtained by The Post, the aide accused English of “unethical” demands on her time and of being “very apathetic, disheartening, and unprofessional.”

“The way you have treated me in this position has negatively impacted my mental and physical well-being tremendously,” the aide wrote in March 2023. “As tough as my skin may be, I refuse to be in a space or fake community with people who do not respect me, my skills, my overall talents, and the knowledge I have to offer.”

In her statement to The Post, English said she “genuinely cares about all my employees and have treated them all with dignity and respect,” including the former aide who accused her of ignoring the alleged harassment by the lawmaker’s family member.

English required that aide to drive her relative between Colorado Springs and the Capitol on a regular basis, the aide alleged. He made repeated romantic advances, the aide said. In early February 2024, the lawmaker’s family member allegedly touched the aide inappropriately, according to the complaint filed with House leadership.

The relative, whom The Post is not identifying because he has not been charged with a crime, said in a phone call earlier this month that he didn’t “know anything about these false allegations.”

“I’ve never harassed any woman in my life,” he said.

When the aide told English about the behavior, the legislator dismissed the claims and told the aide not to tell anyone else, the former aide alleged. The lawmaker also texted her aide and told her not to date the family member, according to a copy of the message reviewed by The Post.

“It traumatized me,” the former aide said of the incident.

The Post spoke with four people who learned of the allegations in early May, in the hours after the argument in the Capitol bathroom. Another person, who still works in the Capitol, learned of the allegations in the days before the argument.

Investigators also examined a tense incident involving English and House staff related to her daughter, who was paid as an aide last year while living in Arizona. The lawmaker also has been repeatedly fined by state officials for delayed campaign finance filings, and a Post review found that roughly a quarter of her reported campaign spending for the 2024 election was directed to people who share an address with her.

In 2017, English was convicted of third-degree assault and child abuse after the mother of English’s grandchildren accused the lawmaker of slapping her and insulting her with anti-Latina slurs.

English has said the allegations in the case are “lies.” Her conviction was later overturned because of allegations about witness tampering that were improperly allowed into the record by the trial judge, court records show.

After the legislature’s workplace harassment committee flagged concerns to McCluskie, the speaker told English in January that House staff would not help her find another aide. McCluskie also directed English not to retaliate against anyone involved in the investigation and to abide by the harassment policy, according to a copy of the message reviewed by The Post.

In her recent interview, McCluskie declined to comment on or confirm her communications with English or anyone else related to the investigation, citing confidentiality requirements. She confirmed there was an incident on the final day of the legislative session last year — referring to the argument in the bathroom — and that in a subsequent meeting in McCluskie’s office, English “expressed (concerns) with her aide’s performance.”

Beyond the direction from McCluskie, English did not face any penalty for her alleged behavior. She has maintained her two committee seats this session, and she unsuccessfully ran for a House leadership role in February. She has since hired another aide.

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