The California Legislature has declared and legislated sex “a contractual event,” and redefined consensual sexual relations as “rape” if it occurs on a college campus—but not in their own offices. Perhaps lawmakers should have turned their attention inward to their own Capitol offices where lawmakers have been accused of a great deal of non-contractual sexual events.
Headlines Monday by KTLA screamed, “San Fernando Valley Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra to Resign Next Year Amid Sexual Harassment Allegations.” But the devil is in the details. The article then states, “Bocanegra announced he will not seek reelection Monday, citing ‘persistent rumors and speculation’ regarding sexual harassment claims.”
‘Not seeking reelection’ is not a resignation.
Assemblyman Bocanegra has been accused by six new women of sexual harassment, according to the Los Angeles Times. “The allegations come as women in various industries are coming forward to tell their stories of sexual harassment and abuse.”
Remember, sexual harassment is about power disparity, and not sex. Unfortunately for the women, it’s about both.
Surely “persistent rumors and speculation” regarding sexual harassment claims would not prevent Bocanegra from running for a guaranteed reelection if these in fact were just persistent rumors and speculation. However, Bocanegra is accused of sexually harassing six more women, in addition to the first woman who accused Bocanegra of sexual assault, while he worked as the chief of staff in the legislative office of then-Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, D-Pacoima.
The latest charges come after the Los Angeles Times reported last month that in 2009, Bocanegra was disciplined in a human resources investigation. Elise Flynn Gyore accused Bocanegra, then a chief of staff, of “inappropriate and unwelcome physical contact.”
Bocanegra, who was supposedly “disciplined” in 2009 by the Assembly Rules Committee, just issued yet another quasi-apology:
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