The Port Townsend woman banned from the city pool after a locker room confrontation with a transgender employee in 2022 has spoken out for the first time since lawyers representing her demanded $350,000 and reinstatement of her pool privileges in March.

One of her lawyers said May 14 the demand letter had not yielded results and that they planned to sue the City of Port Townsend and Olympic Peninsula YMCA, “hopefully” by the end of the month. 

Jaman, reached by a reporter on May 20, said she wants her pool privileges reinstated because swimming has been key to her health, but added that the issue is bigger than that.

“I think the core of this whole thing for me is women and girls’ rights to safety and privacy, and there is no getting around that that has to be established. The rights of women and children are essential.”

She said the ban has also taken a physical toll. “Being able to swim has been an essential part of my well-being for years and years,” said Jaman, 82. “With all that’s happened since this incident, being kicked out of the pool, that has been a major loss to my overall health.”

Eric Sell, an attorney with the Center for American Liberty (CAL), which represents Jaman, said an attorney representing the YMCA, Chris Hawk at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, indicated they were not willing to settle “at this point.”

Sell said they are likely to file the lawsuit in federal court. “We never heard from the city,” he added. The YMCA operates the pool on behalf of the city. 

Sell, Josh Dixon and Harmeet Dhillion of CAL sent a demand letter to city and YMCA officials on March 19. It sought to lift the ban against Jaman, the issuance of a formal apology, and $350,000 for Jaman “for her emotional distress arising out of the incident.”

They originally gave the city and the YMCA until March 27 to respond. Dixon said the YMCA’s insurance carrier later contacted his firm and asked for an extension until May 6 to review the case. That deadline was extended again until May 13.

The suit stems from a July 26, 2022 incident where Jaman confronted a transgender employee who was in the women’s locker room at the Mountain View Pool. Pool leadership alleged Jaman’s verbiage and behavior violated the YMCA’s code of conduct and was enough to warrant a lifetime ban. Further, even if it had not, there were prior incidents involving Jaman.

Attorneys for CAL allege Jaman’s First Amendment and 14th Amendment rights were violated.

The incident garnered national media attention, sparked at least one contentious city council meeting and two demonstrations in Port Townsend.

When asked about the impending lawsuit, City Manager John Mauro wrote in an email, “The city responded and had many public conversations following the incident in 2022. The City has not responded to Ms. Jaman’s letter.”

Wendy Bart, chief executive officer for the Olympic Peninsula YMCA, did not respond to requests for comment.