KOH FAILED ‘ME TOO’
L’ITALIEN BLASTS 3RD DISTRICT RIVAL FOR NOT HELPING SEX HARASSMENT VICTIM, SAYING …
Democratic 3rd District congressional candidate Barbara L’Italien lambasted rival Daniel A. Koh yesterday, saying Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s former chief of staff failed to protect a sexual harassment victim who asked
Koh for help.
“That was his chance to stand up and do the right thing, and he didn’t do it as evidenced by the fact that there is a lawsuit against the city of Boston and he is named in that lawsuit,” L’Italien said on Boston Herald Radio yesterday, describing the former city employee’s complaint as a “MeToo” moment.
Former Boston health and human services employee Hilani Morales accused former HHS chief Felix J. Arroyo of sexual harassment last July, saying he inappropriately groped her and made sexually suggestive comments. Arroyo was suspended following her complaint, and later fired in August.
Morales alleges in a Suffolk Superior Court discrimination lawsuit filed last November that she complained to Koh and he “offered no explanation of what the City would do to address the misconduct and illegal acts.”
Morales was then reassigned to a different department two days after meeting with Koh, despite requesting to stay on in HHS, the lawsuit alleges.
“What do you do in times like that? When you are called to stand up and be on the side of victims? That to me speaks volumes about people,” said L’Italien. “I think it speaks volumes about someone’s leadership. I think it speaks volumes about their moral compass. I think it speaks volumes about whether they have a backbone.”
Koh’s campaign declined to make him available, but campaign manager Rachael Goldenberg slammed L’Italien’s comments as “false personal attacks.”
“The Mayor’s Office took these allegations very seriously and responded quickly. The facts in this situation are clear: Immediately on receiving the complaint against Mr. Arroyo, an investigation was begun. He was removed from his job and placed on leave within 48 hours, and when the investigation was completed two weeks later, Mr. Arroyo was fired,” she said in a statement.
The explosive criticism comes during the final stretch of a congressional primary that has largely been free of mudslinging despite a crowded field of 10 Democrats. The rancor has ratcheted up in recent days, however. An anonymous negative video surfaced over the weekend that used scenes former U.S. Ambassador Rufus Gifford’s reality show “I am the Ambassador,” to show him as out of touch with the many blue-collar voters in the 3rd Congressional District.
Gifford, Koh and L’Italien are the front-runners in the contested race, according to recent polling. Koh’s campaign argued his firstplace position in recent polling is why L’Italien is on the attack.
“It’s unfortunate that a few days after a UMass Lowell poll shows Dan in the lead, Senator L’Italien resorts to false personal attacks,” said Goldenberg. “That’s not what people want to see from candidates. Rather, Democrats should be united in working to oppose President Trump and his disastrous policies.”
Candidate Beej Das, who was in 8th place out of 10 candidates in the same poll, slammed L’Italien for going low.
“Hit-and-run campaigns is the norm for political insiders,” Das said in a statement. “We need representation in Washington that rejects dirty politics.”
‘What do you do in times like that? When you are called to stand up and be on the side of victims? That to me speaks volumes about people.’ — BARBARA L’ITALIEN Candidate for Congress