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Tag: State Senator

284: Merlin Bartz

Sexual Harassment
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Merlin E. Bartz was an Iowa state senator until defeated in 2012. In 2015, he was elected to the Worth County Board of Supervisors. He was named in the $2.2 million suit against the Iowa GOP caucus and the State of Iowa for retaliating when Kirsten Anderson filed a memo detailing sexual harassment of the women who worked for the caucus by staffers and senators. She was fired seven hours after submitting her memo. She alleged Bartz commented on what women wore, their hair, clothing, and shoes.

283: Shawn Hamerlinck

Sexual Harassment
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Shawn Hamerlinck was an Iowa state senator for one term. He lost his seat in 2012, a year before Kristen Anderson was fired for complaining about sexual harassment. Nonetheless, he was named in her suit for his inappropriate behavior while in office. He liked to talk about women’s breast, commenting on their size and the hemlines of their skirts. Kristen Anderson was a Republican Caucus communications director who from 2010 to 2013 filed three complaints about rampant sexual harassment of Republican Caucus women employees. When she submitted her third memo, in 2013, she was fired seven hours later. She sued for retaliation and sexual harassment. She won $2.2 million.

270: Tim Murphy

Hostile Workplace
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Tim Murphy was a Pennsylvania state senator before he ran for Congress and became a U.S. House member. He represented Pennsylvania’s 18th from 2003 until 2017 when he resigned as a result of several scandals. He was known for his absolute opposition to abortion, so when he urged the woman he was having an affair with to get an abortion, that was a major scandal. However, hypocrisy is not a road to listing here.

He was an abusive boss and fostered an atmosphere of abuse, hiring as Chief of Staff another abusive person. His office had 100% turnover because of abuse.

251: John Peterson

Sexual Harassment
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John Peterson was a Republican politician in Pennsylvania serving eight years in local government before being elected to the state House in 1977, then to the state Senate in 1985, and then the US Congress in 1997 where he served until 2009. He was accused of sexual harassment by a page when he was in the state Senate. She filed a complaint alleging he grabbed her breast in the elevator. The Pennsylvania Senate’s investigator concluded that it probably happened, but was impossible to prove. In addition, three women said he tried to kiss them at work and three additional women asked for and got transfers because he made them uncomfortable at work. Those six cases were not investigated.

249: Dan Burton

Sexual Harassment, Sexual Misconduct
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Dan Burton began his career as a state senator in Indiana before being elected to Congress. He was known for philandering and sexual harassment. “None of the [female] staff wanted to be caught in a hall with him,” recalls retired Indiana legislator Hurley Goodall, a Democrat who served with Burton until 1983, when Burton left for Washington.

Burton claimed to be a family values Republican and was vocally prudish in condemnation of Clinton and Bob Packwood, saying  “No one, regardless of what party they serve, no one, regardless of what branch of government they serve, should be allowed to get away with these alleged sexual improprieties”. 

However, he was accused of sexually assaulting a lobbyist for Planned Parenthood, putting his hands up her skirt. “I was there maybe thirty seconds and he had his hands up my skirt so fast I didn’t even know what was coming.” This came from The Flynt Report which had several other allegations as well, but the Flyn

227: Joe Fain

Rape
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Joe Fain was a Washington state senator. Inspired by Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings, Candace Faber came forward alleging Joe Fain had raped her eleven years earlier in 2007. She told her parents about the rape in 2009. She wrote a blog post not naming her attacker but describing the assault. She told other people about it and has a photo from that night with Joe Fain. This was not a simple allegation without supporting evidence.

Since his accuser does not support incarceration but prefers restorative healing as justice, she will not press charges, hoping that she can heal and so can Fain. This means absent a Senate investigation, there will be no police investigation.
The Washington Senate approved a bipartisan investigation, but Republicans rejected every investigator proposed. When Fain lost the general election, the investigation was suspended since they could not agree on an investigator. The allegation remains uninvestigated like the majority of rapes that occur.

220: Jason Priest

Child Abuse, Familial Abuse & Violence
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Jason Priest was a state senator from Red Lodge, Montana. He was a Tea Party Republican and was a standard issue far right pro-gun, anti-choice, “family values” Republican who clashed with more moderate colleagues. He chaired the Senate Public Health, Welfare, and Safety Committee. Then he got in an argument with his estranged wife. In his rage, he threw his 4-year-old daughter across the room where she hit her head and was injured. In the end, he assaulted his daughter, his estranged wife, her boyfriend, and a police officer who had been called to the scene. He was charged with four felony assault claims but pleaded guilty to all four when they were amended to misdemeanors.

217: Bryce Marlatt

Sexual Assault
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Bryce Marlatt was a Republican Oklahoma state senator. His was elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2012 and 2016. He was elected the Majority Caucus Chair in 2014 and Assistant Majority Floor Leader in 2016. Big oil loved him, the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association (now the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma) named him Legislator of the Year in 2013

He would probably still be in the Oklahoma Senate if he had not called an Uber in July 2017. When he got in the car, he told the driver. “Hey, you got nice tits.” He grabbed her while she was driving and kissed the back of her neck. He manhandled and propositioned her. She reported it to the police. He was charged with felony sexual battery. He resigned after he was released. He pled guilty in a plea bargain in which he got 90 days probation, a $500 fine, $50 to the victim’s fund, and court fees.

This was a gift agreed to by the victim out of compassion for his family. Then he went out and violated his probation by driving drunk. His probation was revoked and he was sent to jail for 90 days.

208: David Wilson

Retaliation
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David Wilson is a Republican senator from Wasilla, Alaska. If he had trusted the process when he was accused of sexual harassment, he would not be on this list. But he retaliated against the woman he was accused of harassing, making her fear for her job. Not cool. The woman never filed a complaint. The witnesses to the incident were the ones who brought it forward.

199: Charles Schwertner

Sexual Misconduct
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Charles Schwertner was accused of sending an explicit text message and a photo of his genitals to a University of Texas graduate student — telling her, “I just really want to f**k you.” He denied it. He alleged that a third party to whom he gave his log-in information used his Linked-In and Hushed account (a phone spoofing account) to send the message. He refused to name that person and refused to cooperate with the investigation. Nonetheless, the University said his explanation was plausible. Schwertner said that that closes the case.

The Univesity said it is clear the student received the text and was justified in believing Schwertner sent them. The report did not clear Schwertner, despite his claims otherwise.