California Democratic Party chair must reveal sex abuse report’s findings – or resign

California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks says he wants to protect victims. Shielding victims from “further damage,” is why he decided to bury the party’s official investigation of the sexual misconduct charges that ended former party chair Eric Bauman’s reign in 2018, he says.

Which victims is Hicks talking about? The five former party staff members who filed lawsuits that the party settled for a reported $2.9 million last year? Or the numerous other alleged victims who declined to sue but still demand justice?

“In terms of talking about victims or survivors of abuse by Eric Bauman, we’re talking about a very large group of people, most of whom have not taken any action,” said Daraka Larimore-Hall, vice-chair of the CDP. “When I filed charges against Chairman Bauman to remove him, I was contacted by over 20 people with credible stories.”

Larimore-Hall, who lost the race for CDP chair to Hicks last year, is one of several high-ranking party officials challenging his decision to hide the investigation’s findings. Last week, Hicks announced on Twitter his decision to keep the report to himself, leaving it to victims to tell their own stories if they choose. His decision infuriated some CDP members who see the decision as a cover-up that retraumatizes victims.

Hans Johnson, president of the East Area Progressive Democrats in Los Angeles, said he had dealt with Bauman’s sexual misconduct on multiple occasions. He accused Hicks of “shielding the guilty.”

“It would probably implicate a number of other people who were conflicted and did not do anything about it,” said another alleged Bauman victim, who asked to remain unnamed. “Some of the [party] officers were aware of this early on and chose to keep quiet. Nobody wants attention called to those officers.”

The party official said the CDP had fostered a “general culture of abuse” in which powerful individuals felt free to do as they pleased while party leaders looked the other way.

“If I had to put myself in Rusty Hicks’ shoes, it’s probably that other officers would be implicated – people who were in a position to do something and didn’t do anything about it,” said the official.

Hicks did not respond to multiple interview requests. Bauman, through an attorney, declined to comment.

A growing number of Democrats are pressuring Hicks to reverse his decision. Christine Pelosi, chair of the CDP women’s caucus, said it’s unlikely the organization can move past the scandal without more transparency and accountability.

“If we don’t get at least a partial release of the substance of the report, I think you will see a growing desire for individuals whose conduct was at issue over the past year and a half – that they would come forward and acknowledge the harm that they did or lessons they learned from this,” Pelosi said.

“The party leadership is not leading us toward Democratic values but toward sexist, evil, self-serving, autocratic, undemocratic values,” wrote Delaine Eastin, a former assemblywoman and state superintendent of public instruction, in a Facebook comment. “Time to rise up and change this old boys’ club once and for all. Democratic women and men of quality need to foment a revolution in the California Democratic Party.”

In an interview, Eastin accused party leaders of trying to “pay a bunch of people off and avoid full disclosure.”

The CDP portrays itself as a beacon of progress, but its stance on the sexual misconduct investigation looks like a regression. In 2018, the revelation that Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein had used financial settlements, power and intimidation to silence victims helped spark the #MeToo movement and expose abusers throughout society, including many in California’s Democratic ranks. #MeToo made it clear that settlements and silence were not substitutes for zero tolerance, accountability and transparency.

Hicks can duck reporters’ phone calls, but he can’t evade the growing outrage that threatens to undermine his credibility. If he can’t uphold Democratic Party values by embracing transparency and accountability, he should resign.

“The truth of the wrongdoing – the scale and duration, the many people hurt injured – has never been acknowledged,” said Johnson. “How about an apology?”

“Trying to hide it only keeps the story going,” said the other alleged Bauman victim who spoke with The Bee. “It just delays the process of apology and accountability. It’s better to do it now than to do it later.”

Editor’s note: On Saturday, after this editorial was published online, CDP chair Rusty Hicks reversed his position. Hicks says the CDP will work with victims to make parts of the investigation public. The Bee will continue to follow the story.

This story was originally published April 25, 2020 at 5:00 AM.