Kansas Dem Andrea Ramsey, accused of sexual harassment, will drop out of US House race

[7962]

Source: Kansas City Star

WASHINGTON
Andrea Ramsey, a Democratic candidate for Congress, will drop out of the race after the Kansas City Star asked her about accusations in a 2005 lawsuit that she sexually harassed and retaliated against a male subordinate who said he had rejected her advances.

Multiple sources with knowledge of the case told The Star that the man reached a settlement with LabOne, the company where Ramsey was executive vice president of human resources. Court documents show that the man, Gary Funkhouser, and LabOne agreed to dismiss the case permanently after mediation in 2006.

Ramsey, a 56-year-old retired business executive from Leawood, was one of the Democratic candidates vying to challenge Republican Rep. Kevin Yoder in 2018 in Kansas’ 3rd District.

She was running with the endorsement of Emily’s List, a liberal women’s group that has raised more than a half-million dollars to help female candidates who support abortion rights.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article189931704.html#storylink=cpy

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article189931704.html

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As was pointed out on another OP just the other day, harassment does go both ways. Thanks DemRage!

[MikeydaDog]

2. You have women screaming on elevators when you get in?

[marble falls]

4. Because women aren't being assauted in elevators, right????

[moriah]

6. I still want to know what he's doing to make women scream in elevators.

I've never heard of that, never done so myself, and luckily never had *reason* to scream.

[marble falls]

8. Maybe he needs to consult with council first?....

Oops! A jury got to him first. He'll have to explain that on another thread.

[marble falls]

3. A predator is a predator is a predator. It is a shame she took Emily's List resources thinking her..

past was not going to be exposed.

[NewJeffCT]

14. I'm guessing

that when she entered the race, sexual harassment was not a nationwide hot topic like it is now.

I worked in a large corporation before and I recall one woman getting fired for sexual harassment, and that was back in the 90s.

At her IT department's offsite picnic outing, she had pulled down a guy's swimsuit in front of a whole gang of people. Not sure if that qualifies as sexual harassment or maybe something else - misdemeanor assault?

separately, there were also at least two high profile cases at my company where several men were either fired or suspended over sexual harassment issues - also back in the 90s. Separately, a new high profile executive was quietly let go by the company when it was discovered he was having an affair with his secretary. Not sure if that was actual sexual harassment as cause for the firing or if he broke some sort of Morals clause in his executive contract? I just remember the guy because he could have been a twin brother of my now late uncle, who may be one of the last people on earth to cheat on his wife.

[PoliticAverse]

28. How many current politicians have settled sexual harrassment lawsuits in their past

that haven't come to light yet? We know there are a few currently in Congress.

[NewJeffCT]

41. Was it the Washington Post

or some other media outlet that said they were working on a story about 20-30 politicians that have had sexual harassment settlements?

I'm guessing those are the ones that used taxpayer money. I'm guessing at least that many did it more discreetly than that - through their own money.

[marble falls]

43. And they need to be exposed. Settling is just lipstick on a guilty pig.

[LisaL]

27. And you just immediately assumed she was guilty?

[snooper2]

5. And she was in HR jesabus...what an idiot

[LisaL]

33. Again, she claims she was falsely accused.

[LanternWaste]

7. I'd certainly be fascinated by any one poster on DU who denies that sentiment.

"harassment does go both ways..."

I'd certainly be fascinated by any one poster on DU who denies that sentiment. I'm also fascinated by dragons, unicorn poop and people who fart in the odor of red honeysuckle and nectar.

[7962]

32. Guess since you've admitted being fascinated by other peoples farts, you may have missed it

[iluvtennis]

9. Glad this comes out now vs later. VP of HR sexually harassing some one, that's rich

[Kingofalldems]

10. Too bad Trump won't resign.

[Cryptoad]

11. Smart Politicans are going to ,,,

start wearing body cam 24-7,,,,!

[The Mouth]

12. I loathe Pence, but..

Despite the drawbacks of his policy of never being alone with a member of the opposite sex, it has its advantages

Probably impossible in some jobs, of course.

[Cryptoad]

13. Welcome to DU,,,,,Comrade!

[The Mouth]

21. Thanks.

I mean I think it's a loathsome policy from the scariest asshole to ever be anywhere near the whitehouse, but if I were in a position on power with people gladly ready to take my down by any means necessary it might not be dumb from a self-preservation standpoint.

[Marengo]

29. That poster is suggesting you are a Russian disrupter.

[The Mouth]

44. Well, sounds like they're a moron then

Accusing someone of being a 'concern troll'/ or 'disrupter' pretty much means they have nothing to argue with. too bad, usually the level if discourse seems higher around here, but it's pretty much a troll/disrupter tactic to accuse the other person of what you are, only do it first.

Pathetic.

[Marengo]

58. It seems to fancy itself a kind of commissar. There are a few around here, at the ready...

To accuse anyone who doesn’t pass their subjective purity standards as not being a true Democrat or worse, a disruptor.

[The Mouth]

73. Russian Troll 101, I guess-

Accuse, first and loudly, others of doing/being what you are.
I wonder what their Freeper name is.

[Merlot]

16. Harassment doesn't have to happen behind closed doors

[The Mouth]

20. Too true, that.

I'm just glad it's coming to light so much more. My wife had to deal with it.

[tazkcmo]

24. So does living in a cave.

Which is where Pence came from.

[The Mouth]

47. Actually I think Pence comes from a much nastier place

like wandering around in the desert listening to voices. At least living in a cave you can't hurt others quite so much.

[7962]

25. A friend in management has always had the "open door" rule.

It seems like a good idea for anyone

[The Mouth]

46. Yep.

I'm under no illusion that if I had any power or authority I wouldn't start justifying all sorts of shitty behavior.

[7962]

64. See, I've wondered the same thing.

Although I think mine would be more along the lines of "jokes in bad taste"

[PatrickforO]

71. Indeed. I wonder what the landscape will look like after ten years of zero tolerance.

Zero tolerance without due process is a very destructive path. A path without critical thought, without common sense, and a path which will quickly degenerate for some into witch hunts - because, hey, as Dick and Joe found out in the 50s and 60s, they could make lots of political hay out of creating a big scare with innuendo. This was, of course, called the 'Red Scare,' and it degenerated into an awful kangaroo court called 'The House Un-American Activities Committee,' which, in effect, blacklisted many good people - destroyed their lives, their families, their livelihoods. History came to know this 'zero tolerance' period as 'McCarthyism.'

Funny how we laugh, and say, "McCarthyism? Oh, no, we'd NEVER be that stupid now..."

And yet, here we are.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying we shouldn't listen to accusers. Not at all. But to allow someone to accuse someone of something and then just sit back without being subjected to the rigors of proving their accusation is not decent.

And, don't forget that is corporate America, Human Resources isn't about the welfare of employees. It exists primarily to limit litigation risk against the company. So when a corporation does an 'investigation' of someone accused of something, this 'investigation' is usually done in secret, behind closed doors, and then the axe falls without having anything like due process. We don't enjoy the same freedoms we have as citizens in the context of our jobs. At work we are not free, and work is not a democracy or court of law. Which is why the Democratic party should not have withdrawn support for this candidate until she had a chance to disprove the allegations.

I'm increasingly concerned about Emily's List. I get emails from them pretty much every day begging for money. Is this what they are using that money for? To build railroads?

[kckc]

15. Here is part of her response

When I was the head of human resources at a local company, I had to make difficult business decisions on a daily basis concerning budgets, training initiatives, compensation and benefits, workforce hiring and workforce terminations. A termination decision is always the most wrenching, because it affects not only a person’s livelihood, but also an individual’s dignity and sense of self. Sometimes employees don’t take the decision well, and do things they wouldn’t otherwise do because they are angry in that moment, seeking to retaliate.

Twelve years ago, I eliminated an employee’s position. That man decided to bring a lawsuit against the company (not against me). He named me in the allegations, claiming I fired him because he refused to have sex with me. That is a lie. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigated the allegations and decided not to pursue the complaint; the man later decided to voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit. Because I wasn’t a named party, I didn’t have any opportunity to participate in its resolution.

[Merlot]

17. If that's true it's to bad she's dropping out of the race

[LisaL]

31. She claims she is dropping out because of Zero tolerance policy.

She is categorically denying the allegations.

"In its rush to claim the high ground in our roiling national conversation about harassment, the Democratic Party has implemented a zero tolerance standard," Ramsey said. "For me, that means a vindictive, terminated employee’s false allegations are enough for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) to decide not to support our promising campaign. We are in a national moment where rough justice stands in place of careful analysis, nuance and due process."

http://www.businessinsider.com/andrea-ramsey-sexual-harassment-kansas-drops-out-2017-12

[ProfessorGAC]

18. Then Why Is She Stepping Aside

I guess i'm believing her story because it's pretty cogent and very specific. Perhaps this toxic political environment is more than she wants to tolerate?

[BamaRefugee]

19. maybe higher up the Democratic food chain someone convinced her to

"TAKE ONE FOR THE TEAM", don't know her electability but perhaps they felt her best contribution to the party would be to show that Dems are serious about harassment by folks other than straight males?

[ProfessorGAC]

68. If True...

...that's rotten strategy!

[kckc]

22. more...

More of her response (the whole thing is long and behind a paywall):

My opponents have chosen to use these false allegations against me for political purposes, not only engaging in a whisper campaign, but also contacting political and news organizations. These false allegations are disgraceful and demean the moment this country is in. For far too long, complaints of sexual harassment have been completely ignored. The timely and thorough investigation of complaints is a very good thing. We are seeing real change in how harassment is being handled from Topeka to Washington. We should always make it as safe as possible for people who have been wronged to come forward, and I have based my professional career as an employment lawyer and human resources executive on that principle.

In its rush to claim the high ground in our roiling national conversation about harassment, the Democratic Party has implemented a zero tolerance standard. For me, that means a vindictive, terminated employee’s false allegations are enough for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) to decide not to support our promising campaign. We are in a national moment where rough justice stands in place of careful analysis, nuance and due process.

[LisaL]

35. The whole statement is on facebook.

"Twelve years ago, I eliminated an employee’s position. That man decided to bring a lawsuit against the company (not against me). He named me in the allegations, claiming I fired him because he refused to have sex with me. That is a lie. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigated the allegations and decided not to pursue the complaint; the man later decided to voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit. Because I wasn’t a named party, I didn’t have any opportunity to participate in its resolution."
https://www.facebook.com/AndreaRamseyKS/posts/331785447303472

[ProfessorGAC]

67. Well, That Is Painful

Never believed in zero tolerance for anything
This is one of the reasons

[BannonsLiver]

23. Its interesting to see the reactions here

When it's a woman caught harassing rather than a man. The responses seem considerably less passionate.

[LisaL]

26. She is categorically denying it.

Should we just assume she is guilty anyway?

[BannonsLiver]

45. Blake Farenthold also denied it at first

I think even Weinstein initially denied the claims. Point is, there are some here who believe only men harass. That is not the case. Clearly.

[spooky3]

49. But an investigation led to a settlement in his case. An investigation

In this case led to no charges and no settlement involving the woman.

[LisaL]

51. So what are you suggesting here?

That everybody who is accused is guilty? I don't know how to take it any other way. What exactly would you expect an innocent falsely accused person to do?

[BannonsLiver]

53. Not at all

I’m still defending Franken here, and have done so vehemently since the hit job started. I believe Conyers is likely guilty of some of the things he’s been accused of. What I detest are double standards. My guess is most women do as well.

[LisaL]

54. In this particular case woman who was accused says she isn't guilty.

And yet she can't even run for office anymore. How is one ever not guilty once one is accused?

[7962]

30. Similar occurrence with teachers.

we've seen much lighter sentences for female teachers involved with students.
Although the double standard does apply, whenever I see one of those teacher stories and read comments, there are PLENTY of "I never had teachers like that when I was in school"
You NEVER see a female make a post like that when its a male teacher

[LisaL]

34. She isn't a teacher so there are no minors involved.

She also claims the allegations are false. Do you have any evidence otherwise?

[7962]

63. I was responding to a different poster's opinion.

My comments were not about her; they were about incidents with teachers.
And how many others clam "the allegations are false"? They may very well be. if it were me, I wouldn't drop out of a race over false accusations. But to each their own

[LisaL]

66. DCCC stopped supporting her campaign once the accusations became public.

How could she then continue?

[7962]

69. Were they supporting all the others running in the primary?

I imagine they picked her as their favorite yet the others were running. She could have continued the race without their input. She SHOULD have continued it and pointed out their absence.

[LisaL]

74. Well I guess she felt she couldn't win without their support.

[spooky3]

48. See response 15. She states that EEOC investigated

And decided not to pursue the case, and that the accuser voluntarily dropped his allegation. She also provided info suggesting a motive for the allegation, ie retaliation for her firing him. Sounds as if he got due process but that investigators did not find evidence to support his claim.

There was and is a lot of “passion” here about Franken’s case, so I don’t think it’s fair to imply that people are being sexist.

In reality, the VAST majority of SH cases involve a male perpetrator, sometimes against a male victim. So while it would be untrue to say women simply never harass, the proportions of cases are important, and it would be equally true to imply that “both do it” as if with equivalent frequency.

[Irish_Dem]

36. Right is right, wrong is wrong, no matter your gender. nt

[LisaL]

37. And what right be here?

Believe her guilty despite her categorically denying it?

[Irish_Dem]

38. The facts of the case will determine right or wrong.

If the jury is still out, then we don't know what is right or wrong yet.

[LisaL]

39. What jury is out?

There was never a jury. This case happened 12 years ago. So not sure what jury you are talking about. Regardless, how long will this jury be out? 12 years isn't enough?

[spooky3]

50. It was investigated years ago; no charges.

[LisaL]

52. There never was a possibility of charges in this case since no criminal conduct was even alleged.

[spooky3]

57. EEOC can bring charges of discrimination,

But I think we are agreeing that the investigation showed that they didn’t pursue the complaint.

https://www.eeoc.gov/employees/charge.cfm

[DeminPennswoods]

40. It was only a matter of time before a man accused a woman

of harassment or worse. It surely sounds like a case of a vengeful employee settling a score, just as it seems to be with Lizza's accuser. But in the current overwrought environment, it only takes a public charge for one to lose employment or career.

[LisaL]

55. Well obviously women aren't immune from this, and I pointed that out before.

This woman says she isn't guilty, this incident happened 12 years ago, but yet she isn't even able to run for office anymore?
I can never get behind this "zero tolerance" idea.

[Bengus81]

72. She says she's not guilty,and this happened 12 years ago....

So what?
So what?

Funny how with Franken the TRUTH didn't matter ONLY the allegations,Dems didn't have any time for a bothersome and time consuming ethics investigation,nope Franken need to pack his bags and get out Toot Sweet.

[delisen]

42. Feminism is about equality. Guilt by Accusation is not.

Patriarchy is not about equality. When we lose enough good people in the public sphere because we adopted a patriarchial "zero tolerance" authoritarian policy we'll get back on the equality and justice track.

[Lulu KC]

59. So agree

She is one of I think five in the early race, and appeared to be in the lead at this point. It leaves me wondering about DCCC. But then, I'm still not over Al Franken. Accusations do not equal guilt. We all know that. Due process. Etc. I just hope our party isn't being dumb when we need them to be smarter than ever. At this point, the value of intelligence means more than it ever did to me.

[LisaL]

60. I don't have that hope.

This woman was accused 12 years ago with he said, she said situation. It doesn't appear that anything was proven.
The company this guy sued settled with him, not the woman herself (doesn't appear she had any input on whether to settle).
Yet apparently she can't even run for public office?
So apparently democratic party believes accused equal guilty forever and always.

[delisen]

62. It is a new authoritarianism and it has to end.

[Mike Nelson]

56. She seems firm...

...in her denials. Still, this happens. It's more about power - than gender or sexual preference.

(me too)

[DemRage]

61. OMG! My first DU shouout!

[7962]

65. Merry Christmas!

Although if you look lower, one of my stalkers had to trivialize my comment. For some reason he's obsessed with demeaning my posts. Probably doesn't have much of a life so has to find enjoyment somewhere!

[DemRage]

75. Merry Christmas to you too!

As far as your stalker, if s/he is going out of the way to stalk you, chances are you are inside his or her head without much effort. Enjoy it! You will be enjoying Christmas day and that person is going to be hitting hte refresh button on DU trying to find something to make a weak attack on that everyone else ignores.

[PatrickforO]

70. Ah, I was going to post this. This is the fruits of a 'zero tolerance' policy.

Now we see zealots in our party withdrawing support for our own people without any kind of investigation or due process.

Not so good. Zero tolerance without due process takes us down a dangerous and destructive path, and here's one more victim, crucified on its cross.