Basil Badley allegedly got too close to one of his wife’s employees.Basil

Published 8:00 am Friday, December 4, 2009

Basil Badley allegedly got too close to one of his wife’s employees.Basil Badley is the husband of State Senator Mary Margaret Haugen (D-Camano Island), current chair of the powerful Senate Transportation Committee. And if the allegations in a new sexual harassment suit are to believed, he also may be a serious political liability for his wife.The suit was filed by a woman identified only as C.J. who started off working for Haugen as a policy intern in 2005. She eventually worked her way up to managing Haugen’s re-election campaign. During the campaign the 29-year-old moved in with the candidate and Badley in their Camano Island home. And that’s where she alleges the trouble began.According to the suit, Badley first crossed the line last November after a campaign dinner. That’s when Badley allegedly tried to kiss C.J., an advance she says she managed to counter by moving her head so his mouth landed on her cheek.Then, on a December night when his wife was in Olympia, the suit alleges that Badley invited C.J. back to the house to have dinner and discuss the campaign. Badley allegedly tried to kiss her again. When she again rejected him, the suit claims he touched her “breasts and buttocks and put his hands down her shirt and between her legs” and told her “how much he could help her career in politics because of his connections.”Badley is a retired insurance industry lobbyist who retired five years ago. Neither he nor Haugen has responded publicly to the suit.