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#MeToo Assemblywoman Defends Herself Against Harassment Allegations, But Comments Spark Backlash

  •  Ben Adler 
Tuesday, March 27, 2018 | Sacramento, CA
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Asm. Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens), second from the top on the left, was one of the "silence breakers" pictured in Time Magazine's 2017 Person of the Year Issue.

 

The California Assembly woman who’s led the Me Too movement in Sacramento is speaking out for the first time about the sexual harassment allegations against her — even as the investigation into those allegations continues. But some of her comments in the interview are prompting a backlash.

Asm. Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) denies that she grabbed a man’s crotch — and that she forced staffers to play “spin the bottle” with her.

But when asked whether she referred to former Assembly Speaker John Pérez as a “homo,” she acknowledged having used that word in the past — though didn’t remember if she used it about Pérez, who is gay.

“I'm not going to sit here and pretend I'm an angel,“ she told The California Report. “Was I using those in derogatory terms? No. It's almost like I would say I'm a brown person sometimes.”

Garcia’s comments rubbed Pérez the wrong way.

“I was disturbed by the rationalization that the term is the equivalent of calling oneself brown,“ the former speaker said from Tokyo, where he was on vacation. “As somebody who is both brown and gay, I don’t view those terms as being equivalent.”

Pérez told Capital Public Radio he worried about the message Garcia sent to the staffers who heard her use the slur — especially those who might have been gay but not yet out of the closet.

Meanwhile, one of Garcia’s current colleagues has concerns as well. Asm. Evan Low (D-Campbell), who chairs the Legislature’s LGBT Caucus, calls her remarks “upsetting but not surprising” and adds they reflect the struggles his community faces every day.

Garcia took a voluntary leave of absence last month after the allegations emerged while an outside law firm under contract with the Assembly conducts an investigation.


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    More about We Said Enough

  • Andrew Nixon / Capital Public Radio

    We Said Enough

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    Assembly Investigation Clears #MeToo Lawmaker Cristina Garcia Of Groping Male Staffer But Says She Used Vulgar Language

    Thursday, May 17, 2018
    A California Assembly investigation into complaints of sexual harassment by Democrat Cristina Garcia has found the most severe allegations to be unsubstantiated. But it did substantiate lesser complaints against the assemblywoman.
  • Ben Adler / Capital Public Radio

    Former Staffer: California Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia Fired Him After He Resisted Playing Spin The Bottle

    Sunday, February 18, 2018
    There is a new, on-the-record sexual harassment allegation against California Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia – one of the #MeToo movement’s most prominent voices at the state Capitol.
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    California Lawmaker Cristina Garcia Takes Leave Of Absence Amid Capitol Sexual Harassment Investigation

    Friday, February 9, 2018
    Democratic Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia has been one of the most outspoken state lawmakers against sexual misconduct in California politics. Now she’s taking a leave of absence while an investigation against her proceeds.
  • Ben Adler / Capital Public Radio

    California Legislature’s Women’s Caucus Chair Cristina Garcia Takes Unpaid Leave Following Sexual Harassment Allegations

    Thursday, February 8, 2018
    California Asm. Cristina Garcia—the chair of the Legislature’s Women’s Caucus and an original signer of the We Said Enough letter that sparked the #MeToo movement at the state Capitol—is now the subject of a sexual harassment investigation herself

 We Said Enough

Ben Adler

Director of Programming and Audience Development

Director of Programming and Audience Development Ben Adler first became a public radio listener in the car on his way to preschool — though not necessarily by choice.  Read Full Bio 

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