PropertyValue
?:author
?:datePublished
  • 2018-01-25 (xsd:date)
?:headline
  • Is a New York Lawmaker Accused of Sexual Misconduct Negotiating Anti-Harassment Laws? (en)
?:inLanguage
?:itemReviewed
?:mentions
?:reviewBody
  • As state lawmakers in New York focus on changing sexual misconduct laws, a Democrat who has aligned himself with Republicans drew scrutiny for being involved despite being accused of harmful behavior by a former campaign volunteer. The allegations against state Sen. Jeff Klein (D-New York) by Erica Vladimer were first published in the Huffington Post on 10 January 2018. She told the news site that Klein had forced himself on her outside of a bar in April 2015. Klein is the leader of the Independent Democratic Conference, a group of eight Democratic lawmakers who caucus with state Senate Republicans. The senator has not been charged in connection with the alleged encounter. He has expressed support for Gov. Andrew Cuomo's plan to expand anti-sexual harassment laws, saying: Vladimir, who volunteered for Klein during his 2014 campaign, said she was smoking a cigarette with the senator when he accosted her: Both Klein and his longtime partner, fellow Democratic state Sen. Diane Savino, have denied Vladimir's account. The day that Vladimir's accusation was published, said in a conference call: Klein called for an investigation on the matter by the Joint Commission on Public Ethics. Vladimir issued a statement saying that she did not plan to sue Klein, and that she would cooperate with the commission's investigation. Cuomo called for legislation that would curtail the use of confidentiality agreements in harassment cases involving members of all public entities and branches of government — state and local — unless it is the express preference of the victim. He also said during an appearance at the New York City edition of the Womens' March on 20 January 2018 that abusers and harassers should be on the hook for settling or fighting lawsuits out of pocket, instead of using taxpayer dollars to do so: However, at least one state Democrat, Sen. Liz Krueger, was critical of what she described as a lack of inclusion of female lawmakers in discussions on the matter: But Klein's director of communications, Candice Giove, told us via e-mail that the office rejects the idea that women are being left out of the process: We contacted Cuomo's office as well as the New York State Democratic Committee seeking comment. (en)
?:reviewRating
rdf:type
?:url