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No. 50: Capitol Weekly’s Top 100

Illustration by Chris Shary

50: Adama Iwu

The topic of sexual harassment dominated the winter at the capitol following the Los Angeles Times’ publication of an open letter demanding an end to the persistent harassment endured by staffers, lobbyists and even elected officials. Assemblymen Raul Bocanegra and Matt Dababneh resigned, and Sen. Tony Mendoza lost his committee chairmanship in the wake of scandal. Visa senior government affairs director Adama Iwu launched the bombshell — hashtag #WeSaidEnough — drafting and circulating the letter with lobbyist Samantha Corbin following an infuriating harassment incident. The letter collected more than 140 bipartisan signatories by the time it was published on October 17. Long-suppressed stories of groping, assault and even rape were reported by hundreds of women — and even some men — in the capitol community. #WeSaidEnough landed Iwu on the cover of Time and changed the tenor of the session: Oakland rapper Too Short was abruptly cut from the annual Back to Session Bash, and the venerable (and raunchy) California Roast transformed itself into A Toast to California Women in Politics for the year.

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