Kentucky governor says lawmaker facing sexual harassment accusations should consider resigning
Aug 29, 2024, 3:05 PM | Updated: 3:32 pm
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky Democratic lawmaker accused of sexual harassment by several women should give “serious thought” to resigning, Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday as the first-term legislator has become increasingly alienated in his own political party.
State Rep. Daniel Grossberg was temporarily suspended from the House Democratic caucus and removed from his interim committee assignments after allegations arose this summer that the Louisville lawmaker had engaged in inappropriate conduct. Interim committee meetings allow lawmakers to review issues and hear from stakeholders ahead of the next legislative session that begins in January. Grossberg’s Democratic House colleagues also requested that the Legislative Ethics Commission investigate the allegations against him.
Grossberg and his attorney have steadfastly denied he engaged in any impropriety or abuse of power. The lawmaker narrowly won his spring primary and is unopposed in the November election.
“He has a duty to his constituents and he intends to fulfill the role they elected him to serve,” his attorney, Anna Whites, said Thursday in response to the governor’s remarks.
The embattled lawmaker came under increased pressure on Thursday.
First, the Louisville Democratic Party’s executive committee asked that Grossberg “temporarily refrain” from attending the group’s events or meetings amid any investigation.
Later in the day, Beshear weighed in with his strongest comments yet.
“I hope Rep. Grossberg is giving serious thought and having discussions with family members about whether a public office is the best or most appropriate place for him to be at this time,” the Democratic governor said when asked about the matter at his weekly news conference.
The allegations against Grossberg came to light in reports by the Lexington Herald-Leader. The newspaper said it initially interviewed three women who said they received inappropriate text messages from the lawmaker about their appearances, and often got messages from him late at night.
Soon after the initial reports, a group for young Democrats in Kentucky called on Grossberg to resign.
A month later, the Lexington newspaper reported on new allegations from three more women who described problematic interactions with Grossberg. Those allegations included inappropriate, harassing or sexually-tinged text or direct social media messages, the newspaper said.
Whites has pushed back against the allegations publicized. On Thursday, she said Grossberg had not been contacted by the governor.
“At this point, Rep. Grossberg is allowing the ethics commission to do its job,” Whites said. “Many of the statements against him in the ethics proceeding were false or inaccurate or taken out of context.”
At his news conference Thursday, the governor said the allegations are “very concerning and have only become more concerning as more allegations have come forward.”
“Everybody deserves to be free of harassment of any kind,” Beshear said. “And every workplace should be professional.”
Under state law, legislative ethics complaints and investigations by the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission are confidential until resolved in a public hearing, said Emily Dennis, the commission’s acting executive director. As a result, the commission cannot confirm whether it has received a complaint or whether Grossberg is under investigation, she said.
Grossberg was elected to the Kentucky House in 2022 when he defeated longtime Democratic state Rep. Tom Burch. During his first term, Grossberg has been an outspoken supporter of civil rights, gun control and legal access to women’s reproductive rights, including abortion, and he frequently denounces antisemitism.
Republicans have supermajorities in both of Kentucky’s legislative chambers.
