Yesterday, Professor Jacobson noted that the long-overdue purge of sex predators from the progressive body politic, following the defeat of enabler supreme Hillary Clinton, has begun.
As I noted in a previous post, the Democrats in Sacramento are scrambling to address allegations of sexual harassment and abuse. The West Coast purge has now claimed an Assemblyman.
Democratic Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra, who represents the San Fernando Valley, announced Monday that he will not seek re-election and will immediately resign his position as majority whip ahead of a story accusing him of multiple allegations of sexual harassment….“I spent my life advocating for the Northeast Valley, fighting for a fair share for our communities and residents,” Bocanegra said in a statement to the Times Monday. “It is because of my deep commitment to you, residents of the 39th Assembly District, that I have made the decision to resign from the State Assembly, effective September 1, 2018, and immediately resign my leadership position. I am also suspending my campaign and will not run for re-election.”
The action comes on the heels of news that the Los Angeles Times was preparing a story reporting that six women have accused Bocanegra, now the former Majority Whip of the state Assembly, of sexual harassment and inappropriate contact.
The paper presented its findings to Bocanegra’s office Friday afternoon.The Times reported last month that in 2009, Bocanegra was disciplined in a human resources investigation. A female Capitol staffer accused Bocanegra, then a chief of staff, of “inappropriate and unwelcome physical contact.”
Here is a sample of Bocanegra’s reported behavior:
Late one August night in 2010 at a bar, Sylvia Castillo slid into a booth next to Raul Bocanegra, who was then the chief of staff to California Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes. Bocanegra was a familiar face to Castillo, who worked as a coordinator for a student mentorship program in Sacramento.She asked if he had seen a friend she was looking for and made small talk. Suddenly, “he pounced,” she said.”He grabbed me with one hand, grabbed my head and shoved his tongue into my mouth,” Castillo said in an interview this month. “With his other hand, he put it up my dress. I put my hand down to stop him from trying to grab at my crotch.”
Not surprisingly, the state’s Democrat Party leadership and the accused politico have decided that California voters will best be served…by Bocanegra remaining as a representative until his term ends, and not by resigning or by being expelled.
“These allegations are extremely disturbing, especially since they come after Mr. Bocanegra had previously been investigated and disciplined as a staff member and agreed to stop any harassing or abusive behavior,” [Assembly Speaker Anthony] Rendon, D-Paramount, said in a statement. “The decision to deny constituents the representation of their elected official can be a difficult one, but make no mistake: If the investigation affirms the allegations, I will move to immediately expel Mr. Bocanegra from the Assembly.”
To be fair to California, a lot of Bocanegra’s constituents do not desire this type of representation continuing:
The California Legislative Women’s Caucus was cutting in its assessment of the “resignation”.
“As members of the Legislature, we unequivocally condemn Assemblyman Bocanegra and Assemblyman Mathis’ alleged actions and call upon our leadership to review their—and any other members’—behavior that render them unfit to hold office and immediately enforce, for once, the bodies’ zero-tolerance policies.”
The Los Angeles Daily News also called for Bocanegra’s resignation:
Bocanegra’s political career, and the interests of the political establishment, have benefited significantly from the withholding of serious, disturbing misconduct by Bocanegra. This cannot continue. While Bocanegra has apologized for his conduct, we believe the best way for him to serve the public at this point is to resign from office.
I suspect that there will be more California purging in the near future.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY