Olympic Peninsula YMCA now has until May 6 to respond to a demand letter from attorneys representing a Port Townsend woman permanently banned from the city pool after an incident with a transgender employee in July 2022.

The extension was sought by counsel representing the YMCA and agreed to by attorneys for the Center for American Liberty (CAL), which is representing Julie Jaman in the action.

The conflict stems from an incident at the YMCA on July 26, 2022, in which Jaman confronted Clementine Adams, a transgender pool employee, who was assisting two young girls in the women’s locker room.

Pool leadership said at the time that Jaman’s verbiage and behavior violated the YMCA’s code of conduct and was enough to warrant revocation of her access privileges. However, there was also a “documented pattern of disrespectful behavior” on the part of Jaman before the incident. Jaman said she had never been alerted to any complaints.   

The March 19 demand letter alleges the YMCA violated Washington state law by publishing “false and defamatory statements,” Jaman’s right to free speech, and her right to due process. It seeks a formal apology, to lift the ban, and $350,000 for emotional distress. 

CAL is a “nonprofit organization dedicated to defending the civil liberties of Americans left behind by civil rights legacy organizations,” according to its website.

On Sunday, the CAL website had a banner tease across the top that read “Washington YMCA Bans Woman for Life for Concerns about Man in Girls’ Locker Room.” The link leads to a summary of its position in the Jaman case, followed by side-by-side links: one to donate to CAL and the other to read the demand letter.

CAL was founded by Harmeet Dhillon, a well known figure in Republican-legal, political and non-profit circles.

Dhillon signed the Jaman demand letter, which was addressed to City Manager John Mauro, Kendra Rosenberg, an attorney with Kenyon Disend PLLC, and Wendy Bart, the top executive at the YMCA.

“We didn’t hear from the city, so it is unclear to us what their position is,” said Eric Sell, an associate legal counsel at CAL. “From our perspective, the YMCA and city are both responsible.”

A logical explanation may be that municipal and local governments usually carry blanket public entity insurance that covers incidents on government property or involving its employees, and that was the appropriate legal representative to respond. The YMCA manages the city pool.   

When asked about the city’s response to the demand letter, City Manager John Mauro wrote in an email, “I understand you have requested a copy of the City’s response; however, no such record exists.” Bart did not respond to a request for comment.