Conn. attorney general candidates differ on Kavanaugh nomination
Moved by her own experience with pregnancy discrimination, Republican Sue Hatfield said she will improve the statewide reporting process for victims of sexual harassment and discrimination, if elected attorney general.
But Hatfield asserts she is the “best candidate for attorney general” because she also considers the rights of the accused, in this case those of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Hatfield believes the justice is innocent until proven guilty of the sexual assault allegations raised by Christine Blasey Ford.
“What’s going on in D.C. has become a circus,” said Hatfield in an interview Saturday. “As a prosecutor, I 110 percent believe that somebody accused has the presumption of innocence. I feel for Judge Kavanaugh’s family. I also feel for Dr. Ford. As attorney general, this will not happen in Connecticut where cases are made political.”
Hatfield, a state prosecutor from Pomfret, is running against Democrat William Tong for attorney general, the office that represents the state in all civil matters — including sexual harassment claims.
“On temperament alone, I think he demonstrated that he is not qualified,” Tong said Thursday.
Tong highlights his legislative record in this area. As chair of the legislature’s Judiciary Committee, he has been a key voice in the passage of two domestic violence laws, one which instructed law enforcement to arrest the dominant aggressor and one which removes guns from abusers. He also helped pass a bill that made online harassment through “revenge porn” a felony.
The personal is political
Hatfield, meanwhile, points to her personal experience: a two and a half year fight against alleged gender and pregnancy discrimination while working as a deputy assistant state’s attorney in Tolland County in 2007.
In a federal lawsuit, Hatfield said after she informed her superiors of her pregnancy in April 2007 she was subject a variety of criticisms from how she hung up her coat in her office to her penmanship. She was questioned intrusively about her plans for pregnancy leave, evenings and weekends, Hatfield’s 2009 complaint states.
One day her boss “calls me into his office, tells me to close the door and then just proceeds to berate me for the course of an hour,” said Hatfield.
Hatfield filed a union grievance and complaints to the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. When she obtained a new position at the Statewide Prosecution Bureau, her position was switched from full-time to temporary, a move she viewed as retaliation, her complaint states.
The state’s Division of Criminal Justice, which employed Hatfield, denied any violation of state or federal law or policy. But in January 2010, the Division, represented by the attorney general’s office, then lead by Richard Blumenthal, settled with Hatfield for $20,000, court documents show.
“I never saw policies put in place that would allow this never to happen again,” said Hatfield, who is also a registered nurse. “I’m appalled at how this was handled. Sen. Blumenthal should have been an advocate, but there were no cameras on me.”
Elizabeth Benton, a Blumenthal spokeswoman, dismissed Hatfield’s criticism.
“Senator Blumenthal has been a long-standing, steadfast advocate for the rights of pregnant women and working parents,” Benton said.
Tong wants the sexual harassment reforms Democrats proposed earlier this year passed, he said. Those include eliminating the statute of limitations on criminal sexual assault charges, increasing sexual harassment training requirements at smaller private sector companies, increasing the resources and enforcement powers of the CHRO and extend the time to file a complaint. “Strengthening our sexual harassment policy across state government is incredibly important,” said Tong.
Hatfield said she would support policy mandating smaller private sector companies train their employees on sexual harassment, if the training was affordable, like a simple online course.
An anonymous survey of over 500 lawmakers, lobbyists, staff and others who work at the state Capitol found one in five had experienced sexual harassment, but less than 1 percent had reported their experiences. Most respondents identified their perpetrators of sexual harassment as legislators. Lawmakers responded to the survey by updating their sexual harassment policy, which adds new training requirements and ways victims can report harassment.
Tong was troubled, but not surprised, by the survey’s results.
“I’m relieved that the survey was taken and we have this information,” he said. “Government is not immune from it any more than the private sector is.”
Hatfield called the survey results “appalling.”
“What realistically I end up saying having fought the fight is ‘If you’re not ready to spend two years pushing back, why come forward?’” said Hatfield. “That’s what I don’t want to have happen to anybody else.”