I’ll fight ax, sez canned rights big

Alphonso David is vowing to fight his dramatic firing by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s latest LGBTQ+ rights organization, over a report that as president of the HRC, he had advised former Gov. Cuomo on how to handle sexual harassment allegations.

The co-chairs of HRC’s board, Morgan Cox and Jodie Patterson, said in a statement that the board had decided to fire David, effective immediately, after the completion of an investigation into his actions related to the allegations against Cuomo. Cox and Patterson cited the report about Cuomo issued Aug. 3 by state Attorney General Letitia James, which found the former governor had sexually harassed 11 women. Cuomo has denied the most serious allegations against him.

Hours after the board of the HRC announced David had been fired “for cause,” the former Cuomo aide warned just before midnight on Labor Day that he won’t leave without a fight.

“As a Black, gay man who has spent his whole life fighting for civil and human rights, they cannot shut me up,” David wrote on Twitter. “Expect legal action.”

David, who worked for Cuomo as a staff attorney, was identified in the James investigation as someone who helped to undermine Lindsey Boylan, a former staffer who was the first to accuse Cuomo of misconduct.

Although no longer working for the executive office, David had confidential information about Boylan’s personnel file and shared the memo with Cuomo’s advisers.

David asserts he had an obligation as an attorney to do so.

“After I demanded truth and transparency, the HRC board co-chairs, who should stand for human rights, elected to hide in darkness,” David said. “They unjustly provided notice of termination to me in order to end my fight for the integrity of the review process and for what is right.”

Cox and Patterson countered by ousting David, saying the investigation into David’s role in the Cuomo scandal is still ongoing and he was being fired for lying about it.