(Editor’s Note: Assemblyman Vince Fong is one of six legislators on the Subcommittee on Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation Prevention and Response. He issued the following statement after yesterday’s initial five-hour hearing on allegations of pervasive harassment in and around the Capitol. More about yesterday’s hearing can be found here.)
What is abundantly clear is that we need much more information about how sexual harassment cases have been handled by the leadership of this institution.
One of the shocking facts I learned today is that the Assembly Rules Committee does not track sexual harassment reports, which defies all commonsense. Clearly, there are major concerns about our harassment prevention policies and the workplace culture that has been allowed to fester for years.
It is the primary responsibility of this committee to make real changes that will earn the trust of the public and the men and women who work in the legislature.
In these series of hearings, we must pull back the veil of secrecy and bring accountability to those who are guilty of unacceptable behavior and real protection for our victims.