A special committee of the San Francisco Democratic Party held the first of multiple meetings last Thursday, May 2 to address sexual abuse in local party politics, held in the wake of fresh allegations against rising stars within the progressive faction of the city’s political establishment. The brief meeting revealed that even in a supposedly progressive city, violence against women is a stubbornly unaddressed problem in local politics and that the committee faces an uphill battle in dealing with it.
The issues are real. If you think that credible accusations of rape or similar abuse can quickly derail a politician’s career, just take a look at the presidential race. Money may be the mother’s milk of politics, but loyalty is the baby’s first solid food. In American politics, perception Trumps perspective.
And so in 2021, when affordable housing activist Sasha Perigo first accused Jon Jacobo, then a political operative with powerful housing player TODCO and a city commissioner, of raping her, she was primarily met with silence, despite producing credible evidence of the attack. Jacobo laid low for a while, stepping down from his commission post, but his career was soon ascendant again. Three years later, allegations have come from three more women, and Jacobo has now left TODCO. On top of this, similar allegations surfaced against Kevin Ortiz, a copresident of the Latinx Democratic Club, which is chartered by the local party.
This led local Democratic Party chair Nancy Tung to announce the formation of the committee and inquiry in late April. In addition to gathering information and forming policy to address sexual abuse, the committee also provided space for resources, including a presentation by staff from the Cooperative Restraining Order Clinic, which offers free legal help for survivors.
Meanwhile, the charges were hashed out over social media, with some observers equating the revelations with the progressive movement’s perceived moral bankruptcy and others claiming a political agenda behind them.
Still others engaged in “what-aboutisim,” citing incidents involving centrist political figures.
These include Nate Ballard, a former aide to Gov. Gavin Newson who was convicted of domestic abuse in 2021, and Jay Cheng, director of one of the city’s most potent centrist political groups, accused of sexual battery by a former partner in late 2010, while a senior at the University of California, Irvine and serving as UC student regent. Prosecutors dropped the charge against Cheng, but he was placed on disciplinary probation, and he eventually resigned as student regent to end what he called the “distraction” caused by the controversy. Cheng continues to deny the charge. Meanwhile, Central Committee member Michela Alioto-Pier stepped down from the special inquiry before its first meeting after being reminded that she had written a letter of support for Ballard during his trial.
Meanwhile, pitfalls in tackling the issue loomed large at the Thursday meeting, with Tung announcing her temporary recusal from the committee.
“It’s with some sadness that I will not be chairing the meeting tonight. I’m in some discussions with my employer concerning my role in this committee,” she told those assembled at the beginning of Thursday’s meeting. I do believe that my work here is necessary and that I do have a First Amendment right [to participate here]. Discussions between my office and me will not conclude before tonight.” With that, committee member Lily Ho took over as acting chair.
Tung, a prosecutor who heads the Vulnerable Victims Unit at the district attorney’s office, was advised by superiors that participating on the committee could conflict with the prosecution of related cases. Tung tries elder abuse and hate crimes cases, and she believes their determination is “overly broad.”
During public comment, more technical objections to aspects of the committee surfaced, some seemingly reflective of the city’s oppositional politics.
“If you are running for public office, I see a conflict of interest,” Michael Rouppet, a board member of the Latinx Democratic Club, told the committee, which includes Democratic Central Committee members Trevor Chandler and Bilal Mahmood, who are running for supervisor in November. “It doesn’t convey the seriousness of the committee to not look at the makeup of your committee. And so I ask that you look at it, maybe make some other considerations.”
Acting chair Lily Ho assured attendees that “this body and this committee is not for nothing. We will be doing something about this.”
Paul Aguilar, another LDC board member, told the committee, “… this committee is something that should have happened a long time ago. … however, I am wondering why there are active political candidates sitting on the committee[.] I believe there should be no political candidates on this committee who could be politicizing survivors’ stories for their political gain, including any attempt to exploit any allegations of sexual misconduct as a means of political maneuvering to attack opponents.” At least one other member of the public read out a similarly worded prepared statement.
Sophia Andary, vice president of the Commission on the Status of Women, also criticized aspects of the committee. “This committee represents a positive move towards ensuring perpetrator accountability, including those who enable them … [but] Survivors will not want to speak to a committee they don’t trust, including myself, to ensure this committee’s integrity. No person in this committee, no person in this committee should be allowed who has aided abusers in avoiding responsibility or seeking leniency for abusers,” she told the committee.
Andary also criticized the presence of candidates on the committee and the lack of Black and Brown members. “This committee technically doesn’t need to just have DCCC members. You can [recruit] members in the community,” she added.
The majority of commenters were supportive of the committee, and many testified as survivors of abuse.
Ruth Ferguson, a founder of Stop Sexual Harassment in Politics, related the abuse she suffered as a legislative staffer in Sacramento.
“The sexual harassment I experienced from my supervisor was pervasive and at times, excruciating, but the retaliation is what completely debilitated me. It’s what made me entirely question my ability to remain in politics,” Ferguson told the committee. “Then there was the investigation, which was disturbingly invasive and unproductive despite photo and text evidence, corroborating stories from our interns or the fact that this was an open secret about my office; none of it mattered.”
“This body has the opportunity to create systems, guidelines, and mechanisms to protect future generations … . We all suffer from a system of ineptitude, but we can and must do something about it. I implore everyone in this room to stop the partisanship. We will squander this opportunity to meaningfully pursue justice if we don’t. It is not one camp or another that bears the responsibility for the sexual violence and the lack of accountability.”
Alondra Esquivel Garcia, president of the San Francisco Women’s Political Committee, offered compelling testimony about the San Francisco political community’s stubborn apathy toward the problem. “I went to older Democratic Club board members and party leadership and was told nothing really could be done when I was sexually harassed at the Los Angeles convention last year. I was told to shake it off,” she told the committee. “This party has failed me, but I will continue to fight for it to not fail those who have come after me. Addressing sexual violence in politics is not just a moral imperative. It’s essential for the health of our democracy.”
The committee also heard testimony from a handful of speakers in a closed session. Before convening that session, acting chair Lily Ho thanked attendees “for having the strength to tell us your stories” and assured them that “this body and this committee is not for nothing. We will be doing something about this.”
One thing may be adopting a code of conduct and specific policies to respond to sexual abuse and harassment, and coaxing chartered clubs to do the same. This was echoed by many speaking at the session, including state party Region 6 Director Hene Kelly and political consultant and activist Nadia Rahman, who recently addressed sex abuse in the political community in a S.F. Chronicle op-ed.
Rahman also had another, possibly “trickier” recommendation.
“Other organizations like California Young Democrats have figured out how to factor abuse, assault, and harassment into endorsement recommendations. … Your endorsements are the most consequential in terms of changing culture and getting people in politics to take this seriously.”
Reached on Friday, acting chair Ho told The Voice “that’s something that we have committed to talking to the endorsement committee about,” but “I don’t know that our timeline will allow for it [this year] but this is definitely an avenue that we can we consider.”
