Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Leach to ‘step back’ from Congress race
State senator has been accused of inappropriate conduct toward women
State Sen. Daylin Leach announced Monday that he is “taking a step back from” his congressional campaign amid calls for him to resign his seat and exit the race for Pennsylvania’s 7th District.
“While I’ve always been a gregarious person, it’s heartbreaking to me that I have put someone in a position that made them feel uncomfortable or disrespected,” said Leach, who represents parts of Montgomery and Delaware counties, of accusations that he acted inappropriately toward women. “In the future I will take more care in my words and my actions, and I will make it my top priority to protect those who to speak up to help change the culture around us.”
The 56-year-old state senator’s statement comes in response to mounting pressure from Democrats and Republicans alike for him to bow out and for an investigation into the allegations to be launched.
“I have watched these allegations hurt my family and supporters, and respectfully ask for privacy for my family. Today, I am taking a step back from the congressional campaign to focus on my family and work with Senate leaders to address these allega-
tions and fully cooperate as they are all vetted.”
Leach, D-17, of Lower Merion, stopped short of announcing his total withdrawal from the race or resignation from the state Senate, however.
“I will continue to do all that I can to advance progressive causes in the Senate and represent my constituents with honor,” he said.
“It’s the right thing to do and I’m glad he did it,” said Delaware County Democratic Party Chair David Landau. “He stepped back, or suspended his campaign – I take it that’s the same thing – and is evaluating whether he should go forward with congressional race, which I think would be very difficult under these circumstances.”
Landau said there are two concerns – the merits of the accusations themselves, but also the viability of a campaign from this point on.
“Politically, obviously, a situation like this will continue to follow him throughout the campaign,” said Landau. “There’s no getting around it.”
Landau said he was glad to see Leach appeared to acknowledge in this statement that he needs to work on himself and change his behavior.
“It’s just unacceptable conduct,” Landau said.
The accusations came to light in a Philadelphia Inquirer story over the weekend that alleged numerous instances of Leach either inappropriately touching women or making sexually charged jokes that left some feeling uncomfortable.
The paper indicated none of the women who say they saw or heard questionable conduct from Leach said they had been assaulted, were denied a promotion or had their careers threatened. But Aubrey Montgomery, a former finance director for Leach’s 2008 state senate campaign, told the paper she complained to Leach about a sexualized tone in the office that offended her.
“When I expressed my discomfort, Daylin suggested I just didn’t get the joke, labeled me a prude and characterized me to my colleagues as the campaign’s wet blanket,” she said. “The more uncomfortable Daylin made me, the more he would dial up the intensity. The more I expressed my discomfort at his sexual and off-color humor, the funnier it was to him.”
Leach has denied the allegations and said in a statement that Montgomery “was at least as racy as anyone else” when jokes were made in the office. He said he never heard any complaints from her in the past and that she has been a consistently strong supporter of his campaigns. Montgomery is working for and contributing to Dan Muroff, another Democratic candidate in the 2018 7th District primary.
“I believe the women who have spoken out regarding their experiences,” said Muroff Monday. “Sexual harassment is wrong, period.”
Of two instances of alleged inappropriate touching detailed in the Inquirer story, Leach said he remembers one “not at all, and one only vaguely.”
“But they both allegedly occurred in crowded rooms with lots of people and cameras around,” he said. “I was never alone with the women involved. And I never, in any way, intentionally or unintentionally, touched them inappropriately. It did not happen.”
Leach blamed the accusations on an unnamed political opponent and said such “fishing expeditions” are likely to become standard, which runs the risk of “weaponizing and trivializing a long overdue and critically important movement that is just starting to gain steam.”
Leach has been a state senator for nearly a decade and previously served in the state House. He has a record of championing women’s causes and announced his campaign for the 7th District earlier this year in an attempt to unseat Republican incumbent Pat Meehan of Chadds Ford.
Once the story broke, both Gov. Tom Wolf and Landau suggested Leach withdraw from the race. Wolf actually called on his fellow Democrat to resign his Senate seat as well.
Wolf called Leach “a leader on important policy issues” but said “this conduct cannot be excused.”
Wolf also lamented that the state lacks an “adequate structure for victims to report this type of behavior” and called on leaders from both parties in Harrisburg to “commit to real reform that protects victims.”
Drew McGinty, another Democrat seeking nomination in the 7th District race, said he wholeheartedly believes Leach’s accusers, and called for him to resign and get out of the race.
“This conduct is reprehensible from anyone, but when your job is to serve the good people of Pennsylvania, it is especially heinous,” McGinty said. “The 7th District deserves a nominee that will treat all women and men with respect, and it is clear that Sen. Leach is unable to do so.”
Meehan’s office declined comment and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee issued a less condemning statement.
“Members and candidates must all be held to the highest standard,” the DCCC said. “If anyone is guilty of sexual harassment or sexual assault, that person should not hold public office.”
Republican gubernatorial candidate Paul Mango and Democratic 7th District Congressional candidate Molly Sheehan also added their names to the chorus calling for action Monday.
“This type of behavior has absolutely no place in government, business, or in our society,” said Mango in a statement. “It is my hope that the Pennsylvania state Senate will do a complete and thorough investigation into these appalling accusations and take the necessary measures to ensure perpetrators are held accountable.”
Sheehan said she was disappointed that Leach allegedly created an abusive work environment for young women, but was pleased to see Wolf and Landau adopting a “zerotolerance” stance and hoped other party leaders would follow suit.
“We deserve leaders that respect women and understand the economic, social and psychological damage sexual harassment causes,” she said. “Women deserve elected officials that can both advocate for their policies and respect them in their daily lives. This behavior is beneath the office; it puts our policy goals in jeopardy, weakens the Democratic Party, and endangers women throughout Pennsylvania by poor example.”