State Ethics Board Weighs Whether Tarra Simmons Leveraged Office to Benefit Boyfriend

State Ethics Board Weighs Whether Tarra Simmons Leveraged Office to Benefit Boyfriend

A state ethics board spent a second day this week hearing testimony in a case against Democratic state Rep. Tarra Simmons, the Kitsap County lawmaker and former convicted felon whose political career has been built around criminal justice reform and her own history of incarceration. The case centers on allegations that Simmons improperly used her position as a legislator and campaign-related donations while attempting to help her boyfriend secur…

Washington lawmaker fights ethics charges in rare public hearing

Washington state Rep. Tarra Simmons got her long-sought opportunity Tuesday to publicly defend herself against an array of ethics charges. The Bremerton Democrat spent nearly three hours in front of a state panel, rebutting allegations that she improperly used her legislative position to help a friend get a job and to steer funding to a nonprofit where she worked. Simmons insisted she’s been hypervigilant about complying with the rules since arr…