A followup to a story from seven years ago. Sadly but not surprisingly, very little has changed since then.
Texas senators were silent on Friday in the face of fresh allegations of sexual harassment revealed in in a Texas Monthly investigation.
The reporting focuses on the culture in the upper chamber in the post #MeToo era, examining how rules meant to protect people from sexual harassment go unenforced.
Notably, the story cited an interview from an unnamed University of Texas at Austin student, who in 2018 complained that state Rep. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, sent her inappropriate texts through an encrypted messenger app, including a photo of his penis he called “proof of life.”
Schwertner told investigators at the time that someone had used his phone and he did not send the photos. A University of Texas investigation did not clear him of wrongdoing but could not definitively prove that he sent the message from his own phone.
Schwertner, who was arrested on suspicion of driving drunk last year, has been restored to good standing in the Senate where he chairs a committee and is a close ally of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
“It was just frustrating because all these people are saying he’s such a good guy, he’s a family man,” the woman told Texas Monthly. “There’s data evidence and there’s time stamps and there’s IP addresses” on the messages. “How is this still happening?”
The story also reports a new allegation from an unnamed Senate staffer who said Schwertner followed her to a break room, hugged her and grabbed her butt. The staffer said he also asked her to connect with him on an encrypted messenger app.
Schwertner and his office did not respond to requests for comment.
The article surfaces a new allegation against Sen. Borris Miles, D-Houston, who was previously charged in an incident where he pulled a gun at a party where he allegedly kissed a woman against her will. He was acquitted, but sued by the woman, resulting in a settlement.
Tayhlor Coleman, a Houston-based political consultant, said Miles touched her inappropriately when they greeted each other at a party in 2016.
“He specifically grabbed me in for a hug, slid his hand down, and palmed my butt,” she told the magazine.
Miles and his office did not respond to a request for comment.
In a statement to the Tribune, Patrick, who serves as the president of the Senate, pushed back against characterizations within the Texas Monthly story that the Senate workplace culture and policies allow sexual harassment to continue with little protections for victims.
“Texas Monthly has falsely maligned me and the nearly 75 different senators I have proudly served with as a Senator and as lieutenant governor. The members and I take this issue very seriously,” Patrick said. “Harassment of any type is not tolerated on my own staff. Each of my staff, including myself, has taken sexual harassment prevention training, as have Senators and their staffs.”
The office of Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, did not respond to requests for comment. Kolkhorst oversaw changes to the Senate’s sexual harassment policy following a round of accusations about Texas lawmakers in 2017.
“The Senate’s policy is robust and offers multiple avenues for victims to report sexual harassment without fear of retaliation while providing a fair and just process for those accused,” Patrick said.
I write about the Schwertner story multiple times in 2018; see here, here, and here for a sample. Before that was the first story about sexual harassment at the Legislature, which generated a lot of talk and eventually some updated policies, with the House taking the lead and the Senate grudgingly following along. And then, after the Schwertner story, we mostly forgot about it all, though as this story notes the 2023 expulsion of super creep Bryan Slaton by the House was in part a result of those updated policies.
You need to read the Texas Monthly story, either via subscription or it being your first click on one of their stories in whatever time period you have to wait since the last time you clicked and got a freebie, to get the full details. The Trib story at least gives you the gist of it. I hope this article will generate more reporting. In the meantime, let me leave you with a couple of tweets from author Olivia Messer.
Leaders in the Texas Senate have created a system in which lawmakers who sexually harass employees, interns, and students—a state crime—are seldom held accountable. As a result of a lack of records, the public is left in the dark.
https://texasmonthly.com/news-politics/texas-senate-sexual-harassment/
— Olivia Ruth Messer (@OliviaMesser) 7:06 AM – 12 July 2024
I also want to be crystal clear on this: This is not a comprehensive list of allegations. Several other women who work at the Capitol confirmed they’d experienced sexual harassment but were unwilling to speak for this story, even anonymously, for fear of professional blowback.
— Olivia Ruth Messer (@OliviaMesser) 7:31 AM – 12 July 2024
Really thoughtful quotes from women in the Capitol, but a striking amount of silence from men. And per @baylisswagner: The Statesman reached out to all seven members of the Senate Administration Committee, which oversees the sexual harassment policy, but none provided comment.
— Olivia Ruth Messer (@OliviaMesser) 11:35 AM – 12 July 2024
As I said, I hope there’s more reporting. Because Lord knows, there’s plenty more to the story.