By Aldo Toledo,City Hall ReporterDec 5, 2024 (SFChronicle.com)
Nancy Tung, chair of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee, said the new policies on sexual assault and harassment accusations fulfill a promise made to the San Francisco Women’s Political Committee whose members raised the issue of assault and harassment. Stephen Lam/The Chronicle
San Francisco’s Democratic Party adopted new guidelines Wednesday governing sexual assault and harassment accusations in the wake of recent high-profile allegations against two local politicos.
San Francisco’s Democratic County Central Committee — the party’s governing body in the city — said it will soon retain an ombudsperson to investigate complaints about sexual harassment and assault and will mandate that chartered clubs complete relevant training within 90 days or face disciplinary action.
The changes also include a policy that encourages Democratic clubs to host events at venues where alcohol is not permitted and to offer nonalcoholic beverages. The new rules also clarify that the use of drugs, alcohol, or other substances at party events or other places does not excuse assault and harassment.
Lily Ho, chair of the party’s special committee tasked with making the new rules, said the committee’s job was to create a framework to boost accountability and to begin to change the culture around sexual assault and harassment.
“We want diversity and inclusion, we want young people, we want women and all kinds of people to be participants in our political environment,” Ho said. “In order for that to happen, these spaces need to be safe.”
The policy changes come after the DCCC launched an investigation in July in response to a Chronicle story detailing sexual assault allegations made against the co-president of the San Francisco Latinx Democratic Club, Kevin Ortiz, who denied the allegations. Another prominent progressive activist in the city, Jon Jacobo, has also been accused of sexual assault.
Jacobo, who was once an ascendent political figure in the city, pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and other felonies in August after prosecutors accused him of assaulting a woman at his home in 2021. Ortiz has faced no charges and remains active in the San Francisco political world.
The committee said the new policies were written in partnership with chartered clubs, sexual assault experts and survivors. Ho said that ensuring privacy was a key part of the policy to make sure that allegations against Democratic leaders or club members aren’t “weaponized” politically.
Under the new process, an independent ombudsperson will be the first person of contact about allegations of sexual assault or harassment between a complainant and respondent and will determine whether there has been a violation of DCCC rules. To protect people’s privacy, the DCCC will not be made aware of the specifics of the allegations and the identities of both parties until the conclusion of the incident. The ombudsperson then will send the case to a third-party independent investigator, the law firm of Gibson Dunn.
The law firm does an investigation and presents the facts to a six-person judicial commission made up of sexual assault experts. Then a three-member panel will review the case and determine whether the allegations are substantiated or not. If the allegations are substantiated, the chair of the three-person panel will then ask the complainant if they want to pursue restorative justice or would prefer the judicial commission choose the consequences for the person accused.
Both parties would need to agree to engage in the process. The committee will receive yearly reports on the number of complaints and the investigation results.
Nancy Tung, who is chair of the DCCC, said the new policies fulfill a promise made to the San Francisco Women’s Political Committee whose members raised the issue of assault and harassment.
“This is something that has been on my mind for three years,” Tung said. “I’m very excited about what this means as we take a bold step as leaders in the Democratic Party to make our spaces safe for everyone.”
Reach Aldo Toledo: Aldo.Toledo@sfchronicle.com
Dec 5, 2024
CITY HALL REPORTER
Adalberto “Aldo” Toledo is a city hall reporter with The San Francisco Chronicle covering the mayor and Board of Supervisors. He is a Venezuelan American from a family of longtime journalists.Before joining the Chronicle in 2023, he reported on Peninsula governments and breaking news for the San Jose Mercury News. He also has bylines in the Dallas Morning News, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Champaign, Illinois News-Gazette.Raised in Texas, he studied journalism with a print news focus at the University of North Texas Mayborn School of Journalism, where he worked as News Editor for the North Texas Daily student newspaper.
