California Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra resigns as Sacramento struggles to address sexual misconduct

In this Thursday, May 4, 2017 file photo, Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra, D-Pacoima, speaks at the Capitol, in Sacramento, California. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

By Abby Hamblin Contact Reporter

California Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra, D-Pacoima, resigned from office on Monday morning, a week after the Los Angeles Times reported a series of sexual misconduct allegations against him and he had said he would step down in September when the current legislative session ends.

His new announcement comes as the culture in Sacramento, like other state and American institutions, is under fire for allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct and as state lawmakers begins to change how they handle such accusations. The Los Angeles Times reports that Bocanegra faces allegations of unwanted sexual advances or communication from six women.

“Upon further reflection during the recent holiday weekend, and conversations with family, friends, supporters, I have decided to resign earlier from the State Assembly effective immediately, which was my original intention,” said his statement released on Monday.

Who is Bocanegra and what took him so long to step down? Here’s what you need to know.

Who is Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra?

Bocanegra, 46, represented District 39 for the California State Assembly. District 39 is in the northeastern San Fernando Valley and includes cities like Lake View Terrace, North Hollywood, Mission Hills and Pacoima.

He was elected to the state assembly in 2016 but had previously held the position from 2012 to 2014. He was defeated in the 2014 election by Democrat Patty Lopez.

Before joining the state assembly he was an aide to then Los Angeles City Council President Alex Padilla and chief of staff to California Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes. He was also an instructor at Cal State Long Beach and Cal State Northridge.

On his 2016 campaign website, he lists his main policy issues as education, healthcare, creating jobs, protecting the environment, fighting domestic abuse and standing up for women’s equality.


By stepping down now, he’ll leave vacant his position on five committees, including housing and community development.

What accusations does he face?

The Los Angeles Times first reported on Nov. 20 that six women were accusing Bocanegra of unwanted sexual advances or unwelcome communication. The allegations have all occurred since 2009 and range from emails soliciting dates with a subordinate to unwanted physical contact with women he did not know, the Times reports.

Is this the first time Bocanegra has been accused?

The Los Angeles Times also found out and reported in October that Bocanegra had been disciplined by the Legislature following allegations that he groped a fellow legislative staffer.

“This unfortunate experience I was involved in as a staffer nearly 10 years ago was something I regret and learned from. As to the complaint filed, I fully cooperated with the investigation and after a comprehensive review by an independent body, which included interviews of over a dozen witnesses, the investigation was closed,” Bocanegra said in a statement.

He was told to stay away from his accuser, legislative staff member Elise Gyore, but was not otherwise disciplined by the Assembly Rules Committee.

Why did it take him so long to resign?

In a statement posted to Facebook on Monday, Bocanegra said when he first announced he would wait to resign until 2018, it was because “it was more important to prevent the Northeast Valley from losing representation and to avoid the significant taxpayer cost of a special election.” He also added that he didn’t want to “undermine the credibility” of his accusers so the he and they would have “access to a fair due process.”

He maintains that he’s not guilty of any crimes but that he’s “admittedly not perfect.”

“I believed in our system of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ and that the truth would come out clearing my name and reputation,” Bocanegra wrote. “But clearly, the principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ has been temporarily lost in a hurricane of political opportunism among the self-righteous in my case - to the detriment of both the accuser and the accused.”

In recent weeks, editorial boards for The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Los Angeles Times and The Sacramento Bee have all decried failures in Sacramento to deal with sexual misconduct.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...htmlstory.html