Supporters cheer the opening on Tuesday, May 5, of Glamour Salon at 195 Liberty St. S.E. Owner Lindsey Graham said she opened in defiance of state restrictions to earn an income (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
A Salem salon owner who defied pandemic orders was singled out and targeted by Gov. Kate Brown, a complaint filed in Marion County Circuit Court alleges.
The complaint is the latest in the saga of Lindsey Graham, the owner of Glamour Salon in downtown Salem who in May flouted a state mandate that closed salons and other personal service businesses. Graham became a folk hero to some who have chaffed under the restrictions. But her move led to a $14,000 penalty from the Oregon Occupational Health and Safety Administration, which she has appealed.
According to the complaint filed Dec. 18, the governor sought to make Graham “an example to anyone else who may try to experience personal and economic freedom.”
After reopening, Graham received a letter from the state’s Health Licensing Office threatening to revoke her license and impose civil penalties, according to the complaint. Graham leases space from the city for her salon. She also received a letter from the city indicating her reopening may have violated the lease. Oregon OSHA also threatened her with a $70,000 fine, the complaint alleges.
Later a child welfare worker from the Department of Human Services was sent to Graham’s house to investigate an allegation of child abuse. The allegation was found to be without merit and based on a “fictitious” report, according to the complaint.
Ross Day, Graham’s attorney, said that the actions by the government agencies were a deliberate effort to threaten her into silence.
“If that’s not the government sending a messing trying to intimidate someone, I don’t know what is,” he said.
The governor’s office declined to comment on the pending litigation. The Oregon Department of Human Services also declined to comment on the litigation and wouldn’t confirm whether there was an open child protective services assessment against her.
Multiple lawsuits have challenged the governor’s orders but none have succeeded. Day said his complaint differs by arguing that Graham’s professional licenses gave her a right to perform services. The pandemic orders unduly infringed on the right, he said.
The complaint argues that Brown and state agencies deprived her of due process, violated her civil rights and caused her severe emotional distress.
The complaint seeks $100,000 or an amount to be proven at trial, attorney’s costs and an injunction preventing state officials from further violating Graham’s rights.
Graham filed a similar lawsuit in federal court that was withdrawn last week. Day said that Graham has a better sense of her monetary damages. He said that lawsuit was withdrawn and refiled in state court to collect damages.
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