{"id":2600,"date":"2018-02-09T23:37:49","date_gmt":"2018-02-10T07:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=2600"},"modified":"2018-02-09T23:37:49","modified_gmt":"2018-02-10T07:37:49","slug":"female-california-lawmaker-behind-metoo-push-is-accused-of-groping-male-staffer-the-washington-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=2600","title":{"rendered":"“Female California lawmaker behind #MeToo push is accused of groping male staffer”, The Washington Post"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Derek Hawkins<\/span> February 9, 2018<\/span><\/p>\n

A California lawmaker who has gained national recognition for fighting against sexual misconduct in the state Capitol\u00a0is accused of groping\u00a0a former\u00a0legislative\u00a0staffer.<\/p>\n

The staffer, Daniel Fierro, told The Washington Post on\u00a0Thursday that Democratic Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, who has become a prominent figure in the #MeToo movement, approached him alone after an assembly softball game in 2014, squeezed his buttocks and tried to touch his crotch. He said Garcia\u00a0was visibly intoxicated.<\/p>\n

Fierro, who was 25 at the time,\u00a0did not report the incident because he\u00a0worried about the long-term consequences that could come with\u00a0accusing\u00a0the powerful lawmaker, who\u00a0chairs the Legislative Women\u2019s Caucus and the Natural Resources Committee.\u00a0But in January he told his former boss, Democratic Assemblyman Ian Calderon,\u00a0who referred the matter to an assembly panel that is now investigating Garcia.<\/p>\n

Politico was the first to report<\/a> on Fierro\u2019s allegations. The story also included sexual misconduct allegations against Garcia from an anonymous male lobbyist that The Post was not able to independently\u00a0verify.<\/p>\n

In a statement sent to The Post\u00a0through a spokeswoman, Garcia said she did not recall doing anything wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe details of these claims have never been brought to my attention until today,\u201d the statement read. \u201cI can confirm that I did attend the 2014 legislative softball game with a number of members and my staff. I can also say I have zero recollection of engaging in inappropriate behavior and such behavior is inconsistent with my values.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garcia has\u00a0established herself as a champion of women\u2019s rights and an advocate for victims since she was elected to the legislature in 2012. In the past year, she\u00a0has become a leader in the state\u2019s efforts to combat sexual misconduct and an\u00a0outspoken voice in the\u00a0#MeToo\u00a0movement that has swept through the country.<\/p>\n

She was one of more than 140 women who signed a letter<\/a>last fall decrying what they called a \u201cpervasive\u201d culture of sexual harassment in the California legislature and in politics generally. She has also spoken out<\/a> forcefully against male colleagues accused of sexual misconduct, in some cases calling for them to resign<\/a>. Her Twitter feed is filled with posts promoting awareness about sexual harassment.<\/p>\n

When Time magazine unveiled its \u201cPerson of the Year\u201d issue in December, Garcia\u2019s photo was among the dozens of pictures of \u201cSilence Breakers\u201d who went public about their experiences as the victims of sexual misconduct. Garcia tweeted her surprise at the distinction, saying, \u201cI didn\u2019t know I was part of the story . . . it\u2019s an awkwardly humbling experience, but I am proud of this work and the company I\u2019m in.\u201d<\/p>\n

In November, Garcia told the Associated Press<\/a> in a story about sexual harassment at after-work political events that alcohol was no excuse for inappropriate behavior.\u00a0\u201cI would say that most of the public realizes that our job is based on relationships, and so we are expected to go out there and socialize,\u201d she said. \u201cI think our public also expects us to hold ourselves to a higher standard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fierro, who now runs a communications firm, said Garcia was slurring her words and swaying back and forth when she approached him in the softball field dugout after the 2014 game. At first he was concerned about her falling over. Then, he said, she grabbed him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen she crossed that line, that\u2019s when I was like, this is something completely different than I thought it was. I was shocked,\u201d Fierro told The Post. \u201cI didn\u2019t know how to deal with it if it went any further.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fierro said he immediately told two co-workers about what happened. They confirmed to Politico that he had done so.<\/p>\n

For more than three years, Fierro kept quiet about the incident. He said it was \u201can embarrassing situation that I didn\u2019t want to think about.\u201d He said he never felt threatened by Garcia, nor did he fear any\u00a0imminent retaliation, and he noted that he had no trouble extricating himself from the encounter.\u00a0He added that Garcia appeared so\u00a0drunk that he would not be surprised if she did not remember\u00a0that day.<\/p>\n

Even after the #MeToo movement took off last year, Fierro was initially reluctant to come forward out of concern that it might distract from the many women who have made claims against powerful men in politics, entertainment and media. But that changed as the discussion about sexual misconduct heated up in Sacramento and nationwide.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember thinking, \u2018I don\u2019t know what it was but it probably wasn\u2019t that. I mean, how could that happen to me?\u2019 \u201d Fierro said. \u201cBut the power dynamic was there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garcia\u2019s activism and her growing national profile were a major factor as well,\u00a0added Fierro, who lives in Garcia\u2019s district. \u201cPeople had an impression of Cristina,\u201d he said. \u201cI knew that I had had an experience that didn\u2019t jibe with what was she was saying, and that kind of hypocrisy\u00a0was really hard to stomach.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to her\u00a0activism on women\u2019s issues, Garcia was a strong proponent of a measure signed<\/a> by Gov. Jerry Brown this week protecting legislative staff members who report sexual misconduct or other legal or ethical violations. When the legislation was introduced last fall, Garcia vowed<\/a> not to\u00a0work with any lawmakers who had been accused of sexual harassment.<\/p>\n

Garcia\u2019s communications director, Teala Schaff, said Garcia was notified on Jan. 23 that someone had filed a\u00a0sexual harassment claim against her but was not given any details. The Assembly Rules Committee, which is handling the investigation, has not scheduled an interview with her, Schaff told The Post.<\/p>\n

Fierro has been interviewed in connection with the probe.\u00a0He told The Post\u00a0he does not have a position on what the outcome should be for Garcia. That is up to\u00a0the legislature to determine, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe truth is the truth, and that\u2019s why I said it,\u201d Fierro said. \u201cIt\u2019s about finding out the truth and creating a culture that makes it safe for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Washington Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Derek Hawkins February 9, 2018 A California lawmaker who has gained national recognition for fighting against sexual misconduct in the state Capitol\u00a0is accused of groping\u00a0a former\u00a0legislative\u00a0staffer. The staffer, Daniel Fierro, told The Washington Post on\u00a0Thursday that Democratic Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, who has become a prominent figure in the #MeToo movement, approached him alone after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001004,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1001004"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2600"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2601,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600\/revisions\/2601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}