Panel works on misconduct reporting
California Legislature looks for fix to system
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The public’s right to know if their lawmakers have engaged in sexual misconduct was the chief topic of discussion Thursday among a panel tasked with revamping the California Legislature’s harassment policies.
“The public pays our salary, the public pays the settlements, the public has the absolute right to know what it is we’re doing,” said Democratic Assemblywoman Eloise Gomez Reyes of Grand Terrace.
The nine-member, bipartisan panel of legislators met a day after allegations of misconduct escalated against Democratic Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia of Bell Gardens, an outspoken voice in the #Metoo movement.
The panel made no mention of her case, instead focusing on the broader topic of how to fix a system for reporting and addressing harassment that Capitol employees say is broken.
Employment attorneys called in to speak said transparency should be a priority for the Legislature when it comes to publicizing founded complaints, although one panelist said the Legislature should think carefully before publicizing claims that haven’t been substantiated.
The Legislature on Feb. 2 released documents detailing substantiated sexual harassment complaints against members and staff. That reversed a long-standing precedent of shielding such information from public view, and it’s unclear if periodic disclosure will be the new standard.
The complaints ranged from an inappropriate conversation about sex to unwanted touching and more explicit, lewd comments.
Wendy Musell of the California Employment Lawyers Association said members of the public should be able to judge for themselves whether such instances merit voting someone out of office.
“The public is not stupid,” she said. “I think the public is able to evaluate that and has the right to evaluate that, because they have to ultimately decide: Do we want to have that member come back? Are we going to vote them back in?”
Ann Ravel, the former chairwoman of the Fair Political Practices Commission, said there must be a balance with protecting rights of the accused so someone isn’t branded forever by an accusation that may not be true.