Whistleblower Protections Won’t Stop Lawmakers Like Bocanegra, Mendoza and Mathis

The sexual harassment and assault revelations about Harvey Weinstein, #MeToo combined with the “We’re done with this” campaign lasered in on the California’s poor response to those issues in the State Capitol.

When I saw the list of “We’re done with this” I knew many of them as lobbyists and staff that I had known, worked with and in some cases hired during my years of political and government involvement.

I was truly mortified by some of their experiences and admired their courage in naming names. I know I have no idea what the impacts of those experiences are like.

There has been some support expressed for Assemblywoman’s Melendez bill to extend whistleblower protections to legislative staff. That bill is an excellent bill and deserved to be passed the first time. Why not call a special session and do it in a week?

That bill alone won’t stop the problem. The current system and culture must change in Sacramento..

Here is my take.

I was Chief of Staff to two legislators over 7 years. I worked in the district more than most chiefs. I think I missed a lot of activities in the Capitol. Shortly after I was hired, I took the mandatory sexual harassment training conducted by the State Assembly.

Chiefs of Staff and District Directors had to stay for extra training. It was explained to us that as a “supervisor” each of us were…