#YouToo, Cristina Garcia? (Yes, #HerToo!)

I had heard diverse reports about Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens).

She had run for the 58th Assembly District as a political outsider, with no machine or establishment Democratic backing. The district is overwhelming blue to begin with, but she beat out the party-backed candidate in 2012, and she ran unopposed in 2014. In 2016, a pastor in the Downey area, Ramiro Alvarado, challenged her, but was crushed 75%-25%.

Here's the current district:

Her first claim to fame in the state capital was pushing legislation that would get rid of the sales tax on feminine products. It was a very popular bill, and a number of Republicans voted for it.

Unfortunately, the governor vetoed the legislation, arguing that the state and county budgets could not afford to lose the tax revenue. In 2016, she offered the same legislation, but with an added tax on liquor to counterbalance the lost revenue.

That bill died in committee, because the liquor and vice lobbies fought harder to ensure that their prime product wouldn't face a higher levy and lower sales.

Garcia would be featured in an LA Weekly article, making her out to be some kind of anti-establishment liberal super heroine. The truth is that she has become another establishment figure all to herself. Those are the reporters I have heard from fellow activists in the Bell-Bell Gardens region.

She then positioned herself in the fight against sexual harassment and turned herself into the one of hte many faces of the #MeToo and #TimesUp Movement.

Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elisnore) had introduced a whistle-blower protection bill for legislative staffers every year for the last five years. The legislation never even received a hearing, in large part because of Kevin De Leon and Ricardo Lara (themselves without a doubt connected to sexual harassment and abuse, just like the other coterie of miscreants in Sacramento).

The uproar throughout the state of California against sexual harrassment in Sacramento has reached such a heated pitch, both houses passed the whistleblower legislation with minimal opposition, and Governor Brown signed it without hesitation.

Me Too -- Hypocrisy

And yet ... now she is under investigation for harassment against ... men! These allegations are serious and snowballing fast against her. I was really surprised about these allegations in large part because I had been informed that she was a lesbian. Perhaps she plays on both sides of the fence.

Here are some of the stories I have read.

Politco:

SAN FRANCISCO — California Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia — whose high-profile advocacy of the #MeToo movement earned her national media notice — is herself the subject of a state legislative investigation in the wake of a report that she sexually harassed and groped a former legislative staffer.

Ouch! Politico has often gone out of its way to promote liberal lawmakers while denigrating conservatives and Republicans.

Now what do they do, now that their star woman-power activist is just another selfish, sexist pervert?

In December, when Time magazine announced that “Silence Breakers” who spoke out against sexual harassment were its Persons of the Year, Garcia’s face was prominently included in the art accompanying the cover story.

She was part of the silence, too!

Daniel Fierro speaks out

  

But Daniel Fierro of Cerritos told POLITICO that in 2014, as a 25-year-old staffer to Assemblyman Ian Calderon, he was groped by Garcia, a powerful Democratic lawmaker who chairs the Legislative Women’s Caucus and the Natural Resources Committee.

This is really disgusting, but proves that men and women are both susceptible to committing crimes and engaging in sexual misconduct. It's time for men to step up against sexual harassment, as well as women. Sometimes it's even harder

"Me Too! ME TOO!"

Here are other stories about Garcia's storied harassment:

Fierro is not the only one claiming improper advances by Garcia. A prominent Sacramento lobbyist says she also accosted him in May 2017, when she cornered him, made a graphic sexual proposal, and tried to grab his crotch at a political fundraiser. He spoke to POLITICO on the condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisals.

Yes, ladies, men fear reprisals for speaking out against sexual harassment, too. Men and boys are also victims of sexual abuse, not just from older men, but women, too!

The lobbyist, who represents a major industry association, said that Garcia appeared to have been drinking heavily at a fundraiser hosted by Governor Jerry Brown for state Senator Josh Newman at the de Veres bar in Sacramento. He said he was heading out the door in part to avoid the assemblywoman — who had been increasingly “flirtatious” and had called him on a few occasions before for late night drinks which he repeatedly declined.

Because of the snowball effect against her perverse behavior, she has taken voluntary, unpaid leave:

A Los Angeles-area assemblywoman has voluntarily taken leave of her seat Friday after facing allegations of sexual harassment, an unusual twist of the gender dynamics shaping the misconduct controversies engulfing California's state Capitol.

It's interesting how the LA Times report tries to carry water for her, defending her, and even casting slight aspersions against the allegations.

The 40-year-old lawmaker now finds herself in a stark reversal of roles, from vanguard of California's political #MeToo movement who shared her own tales of being groped while in elected office to one of very few women to be publicly accused of sexual harassment. She was so prominent last fall that she appeared in a Time magazine photo collage portraying the "silence breakers" as part of its Person of the Year issue.

The 40-year-old lawmaker now finds herself in a stark reversal of roles, from vanguard of California's political #MeToo movement who shared her own tales of being groped while in elected office to one of very few women to be publicly accused of sexual harassment. She was so prominent last fall that she appeared in a Time magazine photo collage portraying the "silence breakers" as part of its Person of the Year issue.

Was the LA Times hoping to promote Garcia to higher office? If Tony Mendoza chose to resign from office, she would have no doubt jumped into the race. No question about it.

The real wonder is how did this woman
get away with sexual harassment for so long?

Fierro relates why he was reluctant to share about Garcia's shameful behavior:

Fierro told The Times he was initially wary of speaking out publicly due to the unusual nature of his complaint.

"I worried before [the story published] it would be treated or received differently because of the gender dynamics involved," Fierro said. "There is clearly a culture that affects both men and women in the Capitol that needs to be improved on and made stronger so the Capitol can do the good work that it has to do."

Isn't that terrible?! Men should not have to worry about pushback or man-shaming because he chose to blow the whistle on Garcia's piggish actions.

She needs to go! Sexual harassment cannot be tolerated ever, whether it's a man or a woman.

Here is her statement on the growing allegations against her:

(Sacramento) – Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) today released the following statement in response to allegations of sexual misconduct:

“Upon reflection of the details alleged, I am certain I did not engage in the behavior I am accused of.  However, as I’ve said before, any claims about sexual harassment must be taken seriously, and I believe elected officials should be held to a higher standard of accountability.  Therefore, I am voluntarily taking an immediate unpaid leave from my position in the State Assembly, including any accompanying committee assignments, so as not to serve as a distraction or in any way influence the process of this investigation.  I implore the Assembly Rules Committee to conduct a thorough and expeditious investigation, and I look forward to getting back to work on behalf of my constituents and for the betterment of California.”

###

The 58th Assembly District includes the cities of Montebello, Pico Rivera, Commerce, Bell Gardens, Downey, Norwalk, Bellflower, Cerritos and Artesia.

CONTACT: Teala Schaff, Communications Director, 916-319-2058