Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, one of the leading candidates for California governor, came under increasing pressure Friday to drop out of the race following a report by the San Francisco Chronicle that he sexually assaulted a former female staffer. Swalwell denied the allegations.<\/p>\n
Several other Democratic candidates called for him to immediately drop out, including Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and former Controller Betty Yee, who called the allegations \u201csickening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Swalwell had racked up endorsements across the Democratic establishment, and at least one labor union and one politician who was backing him suspended their support swiftly Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n
The Chronicle reported<\/a> that a woman who worked in Swalwell\u2019s Castro Valley office claimed to have had sexual encounters with him while she worked for him and alleged he sexually assaulted her when she was intoxicated. The report comes after weeks of rumors that Swalwell had inappropriate interactions with staff for years. On one instance in 2019, the woman said she became intoxicated after Swalwell asked her for drinks and woke up in his bed in a hotel room, feeling the effects of intercourse.<\/p>\n “These allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the frontrunner for governor. For nearly 20 years, I have served the public \u2014 as a prosecutor and a congressman and have always protected women. I will defend myself with the facts and where necessary bring legal action,\u201d Swalwell said in a statement Friday.<\/p>\n In recent weeks, two social media influencers began posting online what many people had considered rumors about Swalwell\u2019s behavior with women. The influencers said they had spoken with several young women with whom Swalwell had behaved inappropriately. CalMatters has not independently verified the claims.<\/p>\n Swalwell pushed back hard against the allegations this week, telling reporters at a town hall in Sacramento on Tuesday that they are \u201cfalse,\u201d that he had \u201cnever\u201d had a sexual relationship with anyone who worked for him. He suggested the allegations were politically motivated.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want there to be any question in the minds of Californians,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m offering myself also as somebody who is fearlessly going to stand up for Californians on the toughest issues and not flinch.\u201d<\/p>\n An attorney for Swalwell sent cease-and-desist letters to some of the women, one of the influencers, Arielle Fodor, wrote online<\/a>. The attorney, Elias Dabaie, did not respond to a request for comment on the Chronicle story but confirmed to other news outlets the letter\u2019s authenticity.<\/p>\n On Thursday night, Swalwell canceled a planned town hall in Southern California. Swalwell began calling groups that have endorsed him Friday morning to tell them of an upcoming story in the Chronicle, and denying the story, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to CalMatters.<\/p>\n At least four of his senior campaign staffers, including a top consultant who helped him court labor support, abruptly resigned<\/a> before the news report.<\/p>\n Swalwell\u2019s top two Democratic competitors in governor\u2019s race, Tom Steyer and Katie Porter, on Friday avoided calling for him to drop out, though both issued statements commending the woman in the Chronicle story for coming forward.<\/p>\n Some groups that have endorsed Swalwell declined to comment on the allegations when reached by CalMatters, saying their board members needed time to digest the news.<\/p>\n For others, the exodus was swift. U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez, a Los Angeles Democrat who chaired Swalwell\u2019s campaign, resigned from the role Friday and called on Swalwell to drop out. He called the allegations \u201cthe ugliest and most serious accusations imaginable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy involvement in any campaign begins and ends with trust,\u201d he said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cThe congressman should leave the race now so there can be full accountability without doubt, distraction, or delay.\u201d<\/p>\n The powerhouse union California Teachers Association immediately suspended its support of Swalwell, calling the allegations against him \u201cincredibly disturbing and unacceptable\u201d in a statement by President David Goldberg. \u201cOur elected board will be meeting as soon as possible to follow our union\u2019s democratic process to determine next steps.\u201d<\/p>\n Another heavyweight union that endorsed him, Service Employees International Union California, suspended at least one ad buy in support of Swalwell following the accusations.<\/p>\n The California Medical Association, another backer, was convening an emergency meeting of the board, and \u201ctakes these allegations extremely seriously,\u201d said spokesperson Erin Mellon.<\/p>\n CalMatters’ Yue Stella Yu contributed to this report.<\/p>\n This article was originally published on CalMatters<\/a> and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives<\/a> license.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Democratic Rep. 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