Another California legislator resigns
Lobbyist accused Dababneh of cornering her in hotel bathroom
SACRAMENTO » California assemblyman Matt Dababneh on Friday became the second state lawmaker to abruptly leave office in a cloud of sexual misconduct allegations, just days after a lobbyist accused him of sexually assaulting her in a hotel bathroom.
The 36-yearold San Fernando Valley Democrat — who adamantly denied that he cornered lobbyist Pamela Lopez in a Las Vegas bathroom in January 2016 and urged her to touch him — submitted his resignation late Friday afternoon, effective Jan. 1.
“To be absolutely clear, the allegations against me are not true,” he wrote in a letter to Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. “However, due to the current environment, I, unfortunately, do not believe I can serve my district ef--
fectively.”
Bombshell allegations and hasty resignations have become almost routine in recent weeks amid an unprecedented national public reckoning over sexual harassment and assault by powerful figures in media, entertainment, academia, tech and politics.
Dababneh’s departure comes the day after U.S. Sen. Al Franken, a Democrat from Minnesota, and Rep. Trent Franks, a Republican from Arizona, announced they would leave office.
Dababneh’s former colleague in the state Assembly, Raul Bocanegra, also a Democrat from the San Fernando Valley, announced his resignation last week after seven women accused him of groping and other unwanted sexual advances. He denied wrongdoing and blamed “political opportunism” for his downfall.
State Sen. Tony Mendoza, a Democrat from Los Angeles County, is facing a Senate investigation following accusations that he made unwanted advances to at least two young interns.
Shortly after Dababneh submitted his letter, Rendon struck an optimistic tone, calling the resignation “yet another sign that the culture is changing.”
“The Assembly will continue our work to hasten that change,” he wrote, “to make the Legislature an institution where people are safe, survivors are helped, and perpetrators are held accountable.”
Lopez was among the women who testified at a first-of-its kind hearing earlier this month on the California Capitol’s handling of sexual misconduct complaints. The Legislature is under pressure to revise its approach, which many women say they don’t trust. Among the changes demanded by organizers of the anti-sexual harassment “We Said Enough” campaign are confidential hotlines for victims to report abuse and a single, independent entity to handle investigations for both legislative houses.
Late Friday, We Said Enough organizers issued a statement recognizing “the bravery of the silence breakers who came forward.” The second resignation in as many weeks, they wrote, illustrates the need for “confidential reporting, whistle-blower protections and appropriate due process so that victims no longer have to litigate their issues in the press.”
Dababneh, a UCLA graduate and former district staffer for Southern California Congressman Brad Sherman, came into office after a 2013 special election. Until this week, he held the powerful chairmanship of the Assembly Banking and Finance Committee.
Earlier this week, Lopez held a news conference at her firm K Street Consulting to name Dababneh as the lawmaker who, she said, assaulted her during a pre-wedding celebration of mutual friends in Las Vegas. She said she felt a “large body rush up behind me” and push her into the bathroom, hearing the door slam shut behind her.
“I spun around and realized I was face to face with Matt Dababneh, and that he had very quickly exposed himself and begun masturbating,” she said. “I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God, what do I do? What do I do?’ ”
Lopez said she had met Dababneh only “a handful of times” before the party, and that they never exchanged “more than a handshake and two sentences.”
Three days before the news conference, an attorney for Dababneh demanded that Lopez cancel the news conference or be sued for defaming the lawmaker’s reputation with “false claims,” according to a letter provided by Lopez’s attorneys, who characterized the threat as an intimidation tactic.
A former co-worker of Dababneh’s, Jessica Yas Barker, also came forward at the news conference, accusing the lawmaker of demeaning and sexually inappropriate conduct while they had both worked in Congressman Sherman’s district office in 2008. Dababneh was the district director, and she said his behavior was an “open secret” in the San Fernando Valley.
UCLA’s Democratic club issued a brief statement on Monday corroborating Barker’s assertion about Dababneh’s reputation, saying it has had “run-ins” with the lawmaker “where his behavior was highly suspect, and it is unfortunate that only now those experiences are being heard.”
Soon after Lopez named Dababneh, some began calling for his resignation. Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens, tweeted that she believed the women who accused Mendoza and Dababneh of misconduct. “Both members should resign,” she wrote.
The investigation the Assembly launched will continue, despite Dababneh’s resignation letter. The lawmaker said he would cooperate with the probe, and went on to say that he was “inspired by the many brave women across the country who have recently come forward with their stories.”
“Clearly,” he wrote, “our culture needs to change, our policies need to change, and our work on behalf of women’s rights must advance. … As we battle for change, we must remember that due process exists for a reason. We should never fight injustice with injustice.”