Night view of the California state Capitol, where an effort is underway to allow staffers to unionize.(Photo: trekandshoot, via Shutterstock)The clerks, receptionists, and those who get the coffee in the Capitol have historically been “at will” employees – meaning the legislators who employ them can fire them whenever they wish. That may be about to change.
Lobbyist Pamela Lopez testifies before an Assembly committee about sexual harassment in the Capitol. (Photo: Rich Pedroncelli/APLeaders in the California Senate and Assembly have promised transparency as they combat sexual harassment in the Capitol, but so far most information from misconduct investigations remains hidden from public view. The Senate announced a contract with lawyers from two independent firms to investigate sexual harassment complaints, but attorney-client privilege could shield the investigations from public disclosure.
Assemblymember Melissa Menendez, R-Lake Elsinore, at an August hearing in the Capitol. She has carried anti-sexual harassment legislation four years in a row. (Photo: AP/Rich Pedroncelli) OPINION: As a statewide women-led alliance that advocates at the Capitol to create equity-focused policies for healthy, sustainable communities, we rise with the nearly 200 women who have signed a letter denouncing a culture of rampant sexual abuse and violence in and around the Capitol. We condemn both those whom have engaged in such intolerable conduct, as well as the individuals whom over years have enabled such violence by failing to meet their moral and legal obligations to end it.
Presidential contender Donald Trump speaks at a Costa Mesa rally on May 25. (Photo: Mike LeDray)The fact is, he won. He tweeted and bragged and insulted his way into the White House while Democrats talked about 23-point plans and fumed. Politicians, despite the beliefs of many Americans, are not stupid They saw what happened. So now the question that may soon to be bandied about in offices in and around the Capitol is this: in the light of Donald Trump’s victory, will California campaigns now begin to look Trumpesque?
Students walk across the campus at UC Berkeley. (Photo: Melanie Stetson Freeman, Christian Science Monitor, via AP)UC Berkeley – under federal investigation for its handling of sexual assault complaints and the target of a critical state audit – has a flawed system for dealing with rape allegations and an internal procedure that critics say shields assailants from criminal charges. The school is one of 55 campuses across the country being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education for allegedly mishandling cases of sexual assault.