Assemblymember Mark Stone (D-Scotts Valley) knows that his description of the State Capitol sounds a lot like middle school.
โThe cliques and the cool kids, and the geeks and the nerds,โ he says. โIโm not a popular kid, so I donโt hang out with those guys.โ
Itโs the kind of environment in which sexism can go completely unchecked.
โThe macho guy who is trying to pick up on the young interns, amongst our peers is seen as โthatโs really cool,โโ Stone says. โAnd thereโs not really a consequence for that.โ
In the final months of ย 2017, the #MeToo campaign that began in the entertainment industry, highlighting the prevalence of sexual harassment, spread to the world of politicsโwhere it made waves in Congress and in state capitols around the country, including Sacramento.
Shortly after a female staffer went public with a groping allegation from 2009, Assemblymember Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima) resigned on Nov. 27, the day before a hearing that revealed the scope of these issues.
Then Assemblymember Matt Dababneh stepped down on Friday, Dec. 8, after a lobbyist publicly accused him of yanking her into a bathroom and masturbating in front of her; since then, other victims of his alleged antics have come forward. Both men deny wrongdoing. Another legislator, Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia), ย has been stripped of key leadership posts after three women came forward. Mendoza is refusing to step down, however, saying that the decision should be up to voters after heโs given an opportunity to defend himself.
Finally, talk of real solutions is beginning. Both Stone and state Senator Bill Monning (D-Carmel) expect colleagues to introduce a number of bills addressing sexual harassment when the new session starts Wednesday, Jan. 3.
A letter drafted in October calls for an end to the Capitolโs โpervasive culture of sexual harassmentโ with signatures from more than 140 women, including lawmakers, lobbyists and legislative staffers.
Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) chairs the Assembly Rules Subcommittee on Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation Prevention and Response, which is looking at these issues.
When Speaker Anthony Rendon asked Friedman to chair the subcommittee that would review the existing harassment policy, she expected it to be business-as-usual with a few adjustments to policies, as Friedman recalled in an op-ed piece to the LA Times. Instead, she realized during the Nov. 28 hearing that a complete overhaul of the system was in order, and has since helped set up a hotline for victims of sexual harassment at the Capitol.
At its core, Friedman tells GT, the problem has to do with power, and having worked in Hollywood for 20 years before coming to Sacramento, she knows that itโs not unique to state government.
The problem extends beyond California, too. In Washington, Congressmember Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) tells GT ย he was shocked to hear there was no mandated sexual harassment training when his first term began last January, and he organized one for his own office. ย
In Sacramento, legislative rules require sexual harassment training every two years, but Stone calls the trainings a โjoke,โ explaining that the trainers take it seriously and do what is required, but that many members do not. โThere was a lot of joking, and a lot of sitting there working on phones and doing other things,โ Stone says. A recent story on Capital Public Radioโs website painted a very similar picture.
Assemblymember Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens), chair of the Legislative Womenโs Caucus, points out that only 22 percent of the stateโs legislative positions are held by women, creating an imbalance in a state where women make up just over half the population. She says California wonโt find a long-term solution until it changes that.
Stone says that heโs never witnessed any harassment himself. Monning, who serves in the state Senate, says that before the recent revelations he has not been aware of any harassment. He does say, however, that he has no reason not to trust the women coming forward, and he knows work at the Capitol often bleeds into after-hours social events where drinking alcohol is common. He says he always abstains.
โYou have a mix of staff, of members, senior lobbyists, of junior lobbyists, and so you have environments that by definition are social and somebody whoโs going to engage in aberrant behavior has multiple opportunities throughout the course of a workday,โ he says.
That may be, but Friedman notes that the root cause of sexual harassment is deeper than what people are drinking.
โMost people donโt go out and have a few drinks and assault somebody in a bathroom,โ she says. โTheyโre not doing that just because thereโs alcohol.โ
Both Stone and Monning are hesitant to propose major changes themselves, feeling that it would not be their place to dictate the terms of whatโs best for their women colleagues.
Garcia says the Womenโs Caucus has been working to bridge both houses for a uniform solution. Currently, the Senate and the Assembly have different protocols regarding sexual harassment claims.
The Senate has been referring all sexual harassment claims to outside lawyers recently chosen by a panel Monning serves on. ย The Assembly, which hasnโt revisited its sexual harassment policy since 2007, conducts internal investigations and refers some claims to outside groups.
In addition to working on the victimsโ hotline, Friedman plans to introduce legislation when the legislature reconvenes to give victims of sexual harassment more time to file claims beyond the one-year deadline required under existing law.
There are three more hearings scheduled for early January to evaluate policies on retaliation, and to prevent the types of failures the subcommittee has identified. Thereโs a range of best practices and possible options available to them, Friedman says, from hiring a special advocate for these issues to an internal ethics officer or a special commission.
Unlike other industries, the legislative body has a unique set of circumstances in addressing allegations because leaders are elected, rather than hired by a supervisor. The protocols for their discipline are laid out in the California Constitution. ย
As the situation with Tony Mendoza demonstrates, the accused may choose not to step down voluntarily. And while members can be evicted by a two-thirds vote, itโs a scenario that rarely happens. When it does, it normally involves criminal allegations. Lawmakers say there isnโt a precedent for removing a colleague over harassment allegations, putting the conduct in a gray area that theyโre not yet sure how to police.
One other question going forward is what information should be public. When it comes to sexual harassment claims, it may increase transparency if at least some aspect of any settlement made with state money automatically becomes public. No one is sure how best to do that. Monning, Stone and Friedman all stress that they would not want to intimidate or scare a victim who might be afraid to come forward because they knew their name, or any information about them, might leak out.
Friedman knows her committee faces challenges in bringing perpetrators to justice, ย but sheโs optimistic about the power that transparency can have on elected officials.
โIf people know that the things they do when they are away from home in Sacramento are not going to be kept private,โ she says, โthat there is going to be a way of disclosing major transgressions to voters, I think that is the most important accountability measure we can have.โ
Though Santa Cruz has changed quite a bit in the last 40 years, Moving Parts Press shop has not. Felicia Rice opened the small letterpress printing shop in Santa Cruz in 1977 with a vision that the press would help uplift the voices and creativity of others, whether it was through books, poetry or cards. She still works with various mediums of printmaking, and has more recently begun incorporating digital technology into her work. Her latest letterpress collaboration โDOC/UNDOCโ is a mixed-media project unpacking the concept of identity, on display at Felix Kulpa for only a few more days. Celebrate 40 years of Moving Parts Press, letterpress printmaking and empowerment at this unique show.
Thereโs no better way to spend this holiday season than by giving back to your best friends. One dollar of every pint of on-site local brew goes to help the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter. So you can buy your human best friends brews to help your furry best friendsโtalk about two birds with one stone. Plus, the brewery will be raffling off a jug club membership and all proceeds will go to the shelter. Drink, donate and maybe even bring home a new best friend in the process.
Gatsby? What Gatsby? Dust off your oxfords and bowlers for a swinging party of the century. A ticket includes a complete five-hour beverage package of beer, wine and Champagne, and a three-course dinner so you donโt have to worry about a darn thing, except maybe who is driving home. Donโt even want to worry about that? Of course you donโt. Chaminade is also offering overnight ticket packages for those wishing to stay the night, but youโll have to call. Ticket options are limited and do sell out.
Calling all deadheads, please raise your hands. Okay everyone in Santa Cruz, you can all put your hands down now. It wouldnโt be a New Yearโs here without some kind of Grateful Dead something, so relive that Dead show you went to that one time where that one thing happenedโright, you know the oneโwith live music by The China Cats. Don Quixoteโs is serving dinner, with both meat and veggie options, too. The show is 21-plus and you must buy tickets online, there will be no walk-ins. 
