Activists defend accused Pelosi rival
Supporters of Shahid. Buttar, the November election opponent of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, are rallying around him after an East Coast comedian accused him of sexually harassing her on and off for years starting nearly two decades ago.
A Medium post published this week by Maryland resident Elizabeth Croydon “attempted to draw a different picture of Shahid, than the one we know to be true,” several progressive activists in the Washington area, where Buttar used to live, said in an open letter.
“Shahid. stands for peace, justice, and democracy. He embodies antioppression principles and has a demonstrated record of practices that promote equity and inclusion,” said the signers, who include Code Pink cofounder Medea Benjamin, a wellknown former Bay Area activist who now lives in the Washington area.
Croydon wrote that Buttar pursued her for sex and mocked her when she said she had been celibate for several years by choice. She wrote that “we on the left must hold ourselves to a higher standard as we are committed to creating a just and equitable world, free from sexual misconduct, misogyny and bullying.”
Two progressive groups that have endorsed Buttar in his campaign to deny Pelosi reelection to her San Francisco seat said they were
investigating Croydon’s accusations. San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston pulled his endorsement of Buttar, a democratic socialist activist and attorney.
Buttar said Croydon’s charges are false.
“Sexual harassment is despicable,” Buttar said. “Those who exploit structural sexism and power imbalances must be exposed. I am committed to putting survivors’ interests before my own.”
He added, “Every survivor must be heard, and I hope to be allowed the same opportunity to be heard as well.”
The accusations against Buttar don’t ring true to some in the Washington activist community who say they know both him and Croydon.
“It’s totally out of character. There’s nothing mean or nasty about him,” Benjamin told The Chronicle. “He wouldn’t insult women like that.”
Benjamin said Buttar “is one of these guys who is politically correct in so many ways. I know him as someone who is a feminist, who is very much against the patriarchy and calls people out on it. He’s very careful about how he talks about women. He’s very politically evolved.”
Polly Miller, who worked with Buttar on an antipolicebrutality campaign several years ago, said in an interview, “He worked with Code Pink. It’s all women.”
Croydon’s depiction of Buttar, she said, “did not match anything I ever saw.”
Pat Elder, a longtime activist and journalist who has worked with Buttar on a halfdozen wealth inequality and antiwar campaigns, said he “could not imagine Shahid. carrying on like that. I respect the man and his intellect and his character.”
Croydon said Friday in an email that the open letter was part of a “smear” campaign against her.
“Spending campaign time and resources on discrediting a sexual harassment survivor by essentially calling me crazy is the oldest trick in the abuser’s playbook,” she wrote.
In an interview, she added that “no one can speak to my direct experience of Shahid.”
“I wanted to come forward about this much earlier, but I was terrified to do so,” Croydon said. “People can hold their opinions, but they can’t speak to my direct experience.”