Leaves Assembly, Eyes City Council Seat
Having stepped down earlier this week from the legislative seat he held for nearly 30 years, former Assemblyman Vito Lopez-accused in an ethics commission report of sexually harassing a number of former female staffers-now has his sights set on returning to politics in the City Council.
Lopez officially resigned on Monday morning, May 20, from the Assembly seat representing parts of Bushwick, East Williamsburg and Williamsburg which he occupied since 1984. His resignation-which he initially announced last Friday, May 17, would take place in June- came just before the Assembly was to vote on a resolution authorizing a committee to consider sanctions against the lawmaker, including possible expulsion from the legislative body.
But Lopez’s decision to leave the Assembly was not the result of the sexual harassment scandal that has hounded him for the better part of a year. In last Friday’s announcement, Lopez said he was stepping down so he could concentrate on running for the 34th City Council District seat currently held by Diana Reyna, who is term-limited.
The Brooklyn/Queens City Council district covers parts of Ridgewood (south of Metropolitan Avenue, west of Woodward and Forest avenues and south of Myrtle Avenue), Bushwick, East Williamsburg and Williamsburg.
The news of Lopez’s City Council candidacy infuriated many city politicians and good government advocates. Many have already announced their public support for one previously declared candidate for the seat: Antonio Reynoso, Reyna’s current chief-of-staff.
Lawmakers in state government turned up the pressure on Lopez in recent days in calling for him to step down based on the results of the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) report released last Wednesday, May 15, on its investigation regarding sexual harassment claims against Lopez. The report was released after Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan-the special prosecutor appointed to investigate the case for potential criminality- declared last Wednesday that no charges would be filed against Lopez.
In a statement released last Friday, Lopez said he was “gratified” by Donovan’s ruling, but added, “I have maintained my innocence throughout this matter and I believe no criminal investigation should ever have been conducted.”
“I have made no secret that I intend to run for New York City Council in November, which requires me to resign my current term,” Lopez said in the statement sent to the Times Newsweekly last Friday.
“I expect to run a vigorous campaign on the issues facing the citizens of my community and hope to continue to serve them as a member of the City Council,” Lopez added in his May 17 statement. “I believe that the voters of the community should decide who should represent them.”
Last August, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver censured Lopez and stripped him of his seniority based on the findings of an investigation by the Assembly Standing Committee on Ethics and Guidance, which found that Lopez repeatedly sexually harassed two former female staff members who subsequently filed sexual harassment claims.
It was later reported that the Assembly and Lopez confidentially settled a similar sexual harassment case with two additional women who previously worked for Lopez. This prompted the JCOPE to launch its own inquiry last September.
Couldn’t get out soon enough
Following the release of the JCOPE report, Silver’s office announced last Thursday, May 16, that the speaker would present a measure of “sanctions” against Lopez-including his expulsion from office- to the Assembly for a vote on Monday.
Lopez, in his resignation statement last Friday, indicated he would remain in office through the conclusion of the current legislative session in June to fulfill what he called his “obligation” to his constituents. That wasn’t enough to satisfy Speaker Silver and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, both of whom publicly called for Lopez to resign immediately.
“As I said yesterday, there should be a zero tolerance policy when it comes to sexual harassment, and we must now send a clear message that this behavior is not tolerated,” Cuomo said last Friday. “Vito Lopez should not spend another day in office, let alone a whole month.”
Silver-through his spokesperson, Michael Whyland-indicated last Friday that the sanction resolution against Lopez would move forward on Monday despite Lopez’s announcement.
The vote was avoided when Lopez sent Silver a one-sentence letter by fax last Saturday, May 18, announcing his resignation would take effect at 9 a.m. Monday, May 20.
Pols: ‘Say No to Vito’
Lopez’s City Council run has spurred criticism from many in New York City political circles and spawned efforts aimed at defeating him. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced last Friday she would launch a “Women for Reynoso” campaign to “ensure that Vito Lopez never sets foot in City Hall.”
The New Kings Democrats club started an anti-Lopez campaign of their own, featuring a flyer reading, “Let’s keep N.Y. City Council a molester free zone. Say No to Vito.” The flyer features a photo of Lopez circled and crossed out.
In a statement made to the blog “Politicker” last Friday, Reynoso said Lopez “by virtue of his repeated sexual misconduct and criminal activity … clearly does not deserve to hold public office.”
“The bottom line is this: a publicly condemned criminal does not deserve the public trust, nor the privilege of representing Brooklyn and Queens in the City Council or the State Assembly,” Reynoso stated. “He must drop his campaign immediately and begin looking for ways to right the wrongs he has inflicted on the people of this city.”
Dick Dadey of the Citizens Union told The New York Times last Friday, “It’s unconsciously laughable that [Lopez] still thinks he can get elected and serve the public as an elected official,” adding that his City Council candidacy “shows how out of touch with reality he is.”
Many observers indicated, however, that Lopez remains formidable given his record in the Assembly of bringing millions of dollars in state funds to his district over the last 29 years. Much of that money was allocated to the Ridgewood-Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, originally founded by Lopez prior to entering politics, which constructed affordable housing and launched various social programs for the community.
No representative for months
Regardless of Lopez’s political future, the 53rd Assembly District which he formerly represented is now without a voice in Albany-and, according to published reports, it will remain that way for many more months.
The New York Daily News reported on Monday morning that Governor Cuomo has decided not to call for a special election to fill the vacancy. Had the governor chose to hold the special contest, the leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties in Brooklyn would have had the ability to hand-pick their parties’ respective nominees.
Reportedly, the governor was wary that Lopez-having previously served as the leader of the Kings County Democratic Party-would have influence in the party’s choice of a nominee.
Without the special election, according to state law, a primary election will be held in September to choose the Democratic, Republican and third-party nominees for the seat. The winners will then square off in the November general election for the right to fill the remainder of Lopez’s term.
In the meantime, members of Lopez’s staff remain on the job for an indefinite period as the transition process takes place.
‘Escalating’ misconduct
In its 68-page report, the JCOPE concluded that “complaints made by the four former Lopez employees did not occur in a vacuum,” adding that “since at least 2010, Lopez engaged in an escalating course of conduct with respect to multiple female staff members, including the complainants, that began with demeaning comments about appearance and dress as well as demands for fawning text and email messages, increased to requirements for companionship outside the office, and culminated in attempted and forced intimate contact.”
Those staff members who complied with or were tolerant of Lopez’s requests were rewarded “with cash gifts, promotions, salary increases and plum assignments,” the JCOPE report indicated. Female employees who did not comply with Lopez or insufficiently demonstrated their praise of him were punished “with removal from important assignments, public berating and threats of demotion or job termination.”
“Lopez also used his position and resources as an elected official to threaten or punish certain individuals, including those who left his office, and thereby created an environment that discouraged staff from making complaints or availing themselves of any form of redress against him,” the JCOPE report stated. A possible side effect of this, it was noted, was the lack of any “formal or informal complaints” made to the Office of Counsel for the Majority or the Assembly Ethics Committee earlier than December 2011.
During the course of their investigation, JCOPE “issued 49 subpoenas, interviewed more than 45 individuals and reviewed approximately 20,000 pages of documents,” according to the commission’s report. Among those who were interviewed included current and former employees of Lopez, Assembly members and employees, Speaker Silver, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
Lopez himself was subpoenaed to testify and provide documents to JCOPE. Though he sent the required documents related to the subpoena, the report noted, he did not answer to repeated efforts to be interviewed.
“After numerous efforts to secure his appearance, counsel for Lopez communicated that Lopez would not be appearing” at the JCOPE proceedings since the former lawmaker would be advised by his attorney to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.
A glimpse of bad behavior
Some of the examples of the misconduct, as outlined in the JCOPE report, include the following:
– In June 2011, an employee contracted pink eye after Lopez asked her to place drops in his infected eyes. In text messages with another worker, the employee claimed, “It’s not a problem when he is gross everywhere and infects others. Just when people do it to him.”
– While driving that employee to a Board of Elections event at a later date, Lopez allegedly told her “that he was dying and that he needed her,” then took her hand “and placed it on his neck, shoulder and armpit, telling her that tumors were located in those places.” (Lopez is reportedly battling cancer for the second time in his life, amid other health concerns).
– Lopez reportedly ordered a female employee, after promoting her to chief-of-staff in his district office, to meet with him twice a week afterhours at a bar or restaurant. He later instructed her to send him text message stating how much she enjoyed working for him, and in later messages, he communicated a desire to see “a little more adventure or intensity” in their relationship.
– At a Brooklyn Unidos event in November 2011, a complainant told Lopez in a private conversation that she felt uncomfortable by his behavior toward her and that she wanted to maintain a professional relationship. Lopez reportedly told her she would be “phased out in six weeks.”
In driving her home later, he told the complaintant (in a conversation that was recorded), “I probably have an attraction to you and I have to deal with that, just like you said. That might sound terrible to you, but that is not the worst thing. If I thought you were terrible and ugly, that might be even worse, or you might like that better, but that is something I will deal with like you said.” He later urged her to provide him with “a strong support system” by texting him “twice a night.”
– In another comment recorded by the same complaintant on a different occasion, Lopez told her, “And to your credit, wearing the shoes and button your blouse, you know, I think it looks much nicer in general. And for you to do that, to me, that was really nice. That was a really nice gesture, it really was. And I think you look much nicer in high heels than you don’t….”
“Lopez engaged in a pervasive pattern of abuse of public office and resources, not for a personal or financial gain, but to indulge his personal whims and desires,” the JCOPE report noted. “By this conduct, Lopez indisputably breached the public trust and thereby violated the Public Officers Law.”
It was noted, however, that the commission found no “substantial basis to conclude that Lopez violated the Public Officers Law with respect to the Assembly’s management and disposition of the complaints against him,” adding that the report would be referred to the Assembly Ethics Committee for further action deemed necessary and appropriate.
‘Alarming,’ but nothing criminal
Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes recused himself from investigating Lopez for possible criminal conduct related to the sexual harassment claims since Lopez-as former Brooklyn Democratic Party boss-previously supported his reelection campaigns. Donovan was instead appointed by the court to conduct the criminal investigation.
In a statement issued last Wednesday, Donovan noted that his office “conducted over 50 interviews, most of which were conducted jointly with JCOPE, and examined over 10,000 pages of documents to determine whether there was sufficient evidence to justify” levying criminal charges against Lopez.
“Here it should be noted that not every instance of unwanted conduct of a sexual nature rises to the level of a crime under the penal law of New York,” Donovan stated. “Certainly, what we found was alarming. However, based on our investigation, there is no basis upon which to conclude that a chargeable crime was committed within the confines of Kings County.”
Donovan noted that his office also examined the payment of a settlement to resolve two of the sexual harassment cases filed against Lopez and “concluded that the manner in which the settlement was reached and the payment was made did not implicate any criminal conduct.”
“Nevertheless, it must be emphasized that the manner in which these entities dealt with the allegations fell short of what the public has the right to expect,” the prosecutor added.
