A month after the #MeToo movement exploded in October 2017 amid allegations of awful behavior by film producer Harvey Weinstein and many other famous, powerful men _ including several California lawmakers _ the newly chosen director of the state Democratic Party decided to speak out.
"Nobody should go to work and be in fear, be looking over their shoulder or dodging down the hallway because a bully or harasser is coming," Eric Bauman said at an event. The state Democratic organization had a "100 percent no-tolerance policy" on sexual harassment, he said at the time, months into his job.
But as revealed by a story published Wednesday by the Los Angeles Times, Bauman's comments couldn't have been more hollow or hypocritical. Ten party staffers and political activists said Bauman made coarse sexual remarks and touched and physically intimidated people in work-related settings. His decade of inappropriate actions described were shocking in any workplace, and included "remarks about sexual acts, his and other staffers' genitalia, and being sexually attracted to staff members."
Bauman, a nurse and New York transplant who has been a central figure in the state Democratic Party for decades, resigned after the Times published its story, which appeared five days after state Democratic Vice Chairman Daraka Larimore-Hall cited "horrific" allegations against Bauman.
Initial coverage of Larimore-Hall's allegations noted Bauman's poor relationship with the progressive wing of the party, which nearly elected Bernie Sanders supporter Kimberly Ellis as chairman instead of Bauman. But the Times' investigation laid to rest any insinuation that the allegations were fallout from the bitter intraparty battle. They were fallout from Bauman's behavior. His fall from grace is a reminder that whatever they may say, some powerful men _ and women _ still believe they have carte blanche to act horribly and that the #MeToo movement retains its power a year later.
