GA House Dems in turmoil as fallout from Beverly report continues
Beverly accusations rattle a disgruntled Dem caucus
An outside investigator might not have uncovered any wrongdoing against state House Minority Leader James Beverly, who was faced with harassment allegations last session.
But the fallout from the investigation has left behind a lot of bad blood inside the caucus that he will soon step down from leading.
House Democrats had hired outside counsel after a pregnant female staffer said that Beverly hugged her uncomfortably and expressed what the Leader later called “nostalgic sentiment” as he contrasted his life as a middle-aged single man with the young staffer’s early stages of starting a family.
Other encounters were also reviewed, including one where the Macon optometrist is accused of asking a potential employee during a job interview if she had plans to become pregnant.
But the investigator’s final report, which determined that the accusations were not “substantially severe or pervasive” enough to constitute harassment, has angered some members of his caucus and has even sparked some calls for him to resign.
State Rep. Shea Roberts (D-Sandy Springs), who stepped down as caucus treasurer in protest over the way the accusations were handled, said she was the first person one of the complainants came forward to and that the Leader has “called a pregnant woman a liar for standing up for herself.” She also warned that key details continue to be shielded from her colleagues.
Another Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Stacey Evans of Atlanta, suggested it was never the caucus’ place to litigate this matter. “Our values demand zero tolerance for improper sexual comments to or improper touching of a staffer,” Evans said. “To hear the report claim essentially ‘once is OK,’ is disturbing.”
Beverly’s allies are rushing to his defense, with some even signing onto a letter attacking the “false comments” being made by their colleagues as well as some members of the press.
“Rep. Shea Roberts and Rep. Stacey Evans breached the employee’s request for confidentiality and the request that the complaint stay within the leadership,” reads the letter, which was signed by a group of Black female lawmakers.
The letter goes on to accuse Reps. Roberts and Evans of demanding Beverly’s resignation before he was informed of the accusations himself. “To request a person to step down after an accusation and deny the accused any due process is unjust,” they said.
The members also criticized Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Patricia Murphy for making a “false comparison” between former President Donald Trump’s behavior and Leader Beverly in a recent opinion piece. They claim other members under the Gold Dome have faced allegations that are far more serious but received little scrutiny.
“Where was the outrage of these members and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last term,” they ask, “when other members of the Georgia House of Representatives were accused of much more egregious sexual harassment allegations?” No examples were listed.
The storm of drama in the House Democratic caucus shows no signs of letting up. They have been bogged down in hours-long caucus meetings since the allegations surfaced. In addition to Rep. Roberts’ resignation as treasurer, several staffers are said to have left for new jobs with the state Democratic Party or President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign.
Beverly continues to heap praise on the investigative process and is showing no signs of stepping down as leader before the end of his term. It remains to be seen how all of this could impact the party’s efforts to gain ground in the Republican-controlled chamber this November — a topic they would undoubtedly much rather be focused on during caucus calls.