Assemblyman Ting admits he had an affair, denies influence over legislation
California Democratic Assemblyman Phil Ting admitted Saturday to having an extramarital affair, one day after a conservative online news organization reported that claim and other allegations against him.
“I violated my family’s trust and I must now work, to the extent that I am able, to heal the wounds I have caused them and all of you,” Ting, the Assembly’s budget committee chair, said in a tweet Saturday morning.
Ting denied any allegations that “personal consideration” was ever a motivation for any bills he worked on or votes he made, which the news article suggests.
“I have fought for the rights of working people my entire adult life,” he said.
“But I was not faithful to my marriage vows and for that, I am deeply, deeply sorry,” Ting said.
Ting’s 19th Assembly District
represents western San Francisco, all of Daly City and Colma, and parts of South San Francisco.
“I am making my apologies to my family directly and privately and ask, for their sake, the private space to do so,” he added.
Ting did not immediately
respond to calls and emails seeking comment from this news organization.
The article from Communities Digital News reported Friday that Ting had an affair with a woman named Carmel Foster, who claims she was used “as a prop to bolster support for a number of ballot measures and bills, including AB5.”
Foster testified in favor of AB5 — a bill Ting supported — while seated next to the bill’s author, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez,
from the state’s 80th District in Southern California, including Chula Vista and parts of San Diego. It is unknown how Gonzalez met Foster.
Ting, in his tweets Saturday, did not identify the person with whom he had an affair.
In the story from CDN, Foster claims Ting withheld his true identity from her for months after they met on a dating site called “What’s Your Price,” using a photo of another man on his profile and a different name.
California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, of Los Angeles, said
in a tweet Saturday that he had “personally accepted” Ting’s “sincere apology to his constituents and colleagues for his mistake.”
Rendon, who along with Gonzalez sponsored AB 5 — a bill that codifies which workers can and cannot be classified as independent contractors in the state — criticized the online news site’s article.
“The allegations in a right-wing blog appear designed to undermine our efforts to bring greater economic justice to working people. Rest assured, we will not be distracted or deterred from our mission,” Rendon said.