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Leonard Williamson, the inspector general for the Oregon Department of Corrections, has filed a tort claim notice against the department, his boss, DOC director Colette Peters, and an unnamed group of DOC employees referred to as "DOES 1-10."
The tort claim notice, dated Sept. 3, says the potential defendants "have injured Mr. Williamson's professional reputation. The date of the injury is April 15, 2015 and continues to the present time. Mr. Williamson will be seeking damages of $3,000,000."
On the same day, Williamson filed a complaint with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission, alleging cronyism.
"Colette S. Peters has terminated or caused the termination of numerous DOC employees and has replaced them with close personal acquaintances, without regard to department hiring procedures," the ethics complaint says.
Williamson joined the Department of Corrections as inspector general in September 2011, according to his Linked-In page. Prior to that, he was attorney-in-charge of the torts and employment section of the Oregon Department of Justice's trial division for nearly 11 years.
Neither Williamson nor his attorney returned calls seeking comment.
A DOC spokeswoman said Peters was unavailable for comment, as was ethics commission director Ron Bersin. A Department of Administrative Services spokesman acknowledged his agency received Williamson's tort claim notice.
The state has a policy of not commenting on potential or pending litigation.
WWeek 2015