Lawmaker: I was sexually harassed at the Capitol
A Republican state lawmaker said she has been sexually harassed by male colleagues in the Arizona Legislature and has faced retaliation for reporting her experience.
State Rep. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, RScottsdale, on Thursday posted a public letter on Facebook and Twitter stating that it began after she took office in 2011.
“Almost immediately upon my arrival to the Capitol, I experienced unwanted sexual advances and lewd and suggestive comments regarding my body and appearance from male colleagues,” she wrote.
“As the behavior became more aggressive and brazen, I could no longer ignore what was happening because
being at the Capitol and interacting with some of my peers became uncomfortable and intimidating as I established myself in this new role.”
During an interview Friday, Ugenti-Rita declined to name specific colleagues or describe instances of harassment in further detail.
She said she might name names at a later date if the Legislature has a process for reporting harassment “that’s safe and legitimate.” UgentiRita’s letter calls on leaders at the state Capitol to create a formal avenue for reporting complaints.
Her letter comes as women nationwide have spoken out about their experiences with sexual harassment and assault in the wake of the scandal enveloping producer Harvey Weinstein. Ugenti-Rita said she feels a responsibility to speak out because the scandal has exposed “a systemic problem that has existed in many places for a very long time.”
Arizona House Speaker J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, released a statement Friday afternoon saying he’s “deeply concerned” by reports that Ugenti-Rita was harassed when she entered the House.
“This is an issue that needs to be confronted head-on, and this discussion is a necessary first step in addressing it,” Mesnard wrote.
Ugenti-Rita said she complained about harassment to legislative leadership, but found little reprieve and faced retaliation as a result. She said she took her concerns about harassment to Republican leadership in the Arizona House of Representatives. While party leaders were understanding, they could do little because legislators are duly elected and not traditional employees, she said.
Then, Ugenti-Rita said, she believes some state Senate members retaliated. She said she felt isolated and had to work harder to get bills passed.
“I thought my bills were treated differently,” she told The Arizona Republic. “I would have pretty decent success in the House, then all of the sudden, it would be a totally different experience in the Senate.”
Former House Speaker Kirk Adams, now Gov. Doug Ducey’s chief of staff, was the top-ranking Republican in the chamber when Ugenti took office. On Friday, he said he backs her effort to change the Legislature’s practices for dealing with harassment.
“I believe Michelle when she says this issue was raised to House leadership, (though) I do not recall the content or timing of the conversation,” Adams wrote in a text message. “I’m supportive of her as she tries to bring reform to the process.”
Adams resigned from the House during UgentiRita’s first year in office. Other former speakers she has served with, Andy Tobin and David Gowan, did not respond to a request for comment.
Ugenti-Rita said she wants to work with leaders in the House and Senate to create a new reporting process that includes remedies for accused officials. But it’s unclear whether the Legislature will act on her suggestion. Mesnard, who became speaker this year, said he needs to hear more before proposing specific policy changes.
“Only by first listening to these accounts can we learn from them and determine what steps can be taken to improve our existing policy for reporting sexual harassment,” Mesnard wrote in his statement.
Matt Specht, a spokesman for the House Republican caucus, said the chamber doesn’t have written sexual-harassment policies aside from state laws that deal with the issue. He said lawyers from the Attorney General’s Office brief new lawmakers during their orientation. A PowerPoint presentation from the orientation lists several places where lawmakers are told they can direct complaints of harassment, including the chamber’s rules attorneys.
Multiple state lawmakers from both parties on Friday condemned harassment. But several Democrats said UgentiRita’s situation speaks to a broader cultural problem at the Capitol.
“It’s not surprising to me that it’s happened at all, because the Legislature is a patriarchal institution,” said Senate Minority Leader Katie Hobbs, D-Phoenix. “It’s not like this is a new thing.”
Hobbs pointed to an incident last spring involving Rep. Isela Blanc, DPhoenix, and Rep. Bob Thorpe, R-Flagstaff, which led Thorpe to apologize on the House floor.
Blanc said Thorpe told her he would have security remove her from a committee hearing room if she wouldn’t meet with him outside in the hallway. She said that, once outside the room, Thorpe told her she would be barred from asking questions during the hearing.
Thorpe later apologized publicly, saying, “I overstepped my authority.”
Blanc said the incident is one of many where men in the majority party have intimidated or tried to stifle the voices of women. She said sexism is rampant at the Capitol.
“I no longer have patience or time to be oppressed or intimidated by someone who got here the same way I got here, by being elected,” Blanc said.
But several Republican lawmakers who spoke with The Republic on Friday said they support taking strong action to prevent harassment.
“It needs to be dealt with just as strongly in the Legislature as it is elsewhere,” said Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, who represents the same district as UgentiRita. “There can be no legislative immunity here.”
Ultimately, Ugenti-Rita said, she hopes sharing her experiences will encourage others who’ve been harassed to come forward. She said she’s confident that House leadership will support her effort to create a new reporting system.
“I want my experience to be a catalyst for real change,” she said.
Ugenti-Rita is a commercial real-estate agent and mother of three. She cannot run for another term in the House next year due to term limits but has filed paperwork to run for the Senate.