Raul Bocanegra

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In 2009, Bocanegra worked as a staff member for then assembly member Felipe Fuentes.

In October 2017, Elise Flynn Gyore, who worked as a staffer for a state senator at the time, alleged that Bocanegra "put his hands into her blouse" outside of a bathroom at a night club in Sacramento. Flynn Gyore did not know Bocanegra at the time. The next day, she reported the incident to the Senate sergeant who conducted an investigation which concluded that it was "more likely than not that Mr. Bocanegra engaged in [that] behavior that night". In October 2017, Flynn Gyore made her allegation public. [2]

The revelation of the incident prompted the California Legislative Women's Caucus to call upon the legislature to review the incident and "immediately enforce, for once, the bodies’ zero-tolerance policies." [3] An editorial in the Los Angeles Daily News called for Bocanegra's resignation and condemned those who knew about the groping yet helped him rise in his career. [4] The group, We Said Enough, called on him to resign. [5] Local activists, including former assembly member Patty López, who defeated Bocanegra in 2014 and lost to him in 2016, demonstrated outside Bocanegra's district office. [6] Los Angeles Unified School District Board Member Kelly Gonez issued a statement saying "It’s not enough to admonish a staffer or legislator to stay away from his victim," and commending Gyore for speaking out. [7]

Elections

2014

Raul Bocanegra
Raul Bocanegra (2012).jpg
Member of the California State Assembly
from the 39th district
In office
December 5, 2016 November 27, 2017
California's 39th State Assembly district election, 2014
Primary election
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Raul Bocanegra (incumbent)13,06962.5
Democratic Patty Lopez 4,94023.6
Democratic Kevin J. Suscavage2,87613.7
Republican Michael B. Boyd (write-in candidate)360.2
Total votes20,921 100.0
General election
Democratic Patty Lopez 22,750 50.5
Democratic Raul Bocanegra (incumbent)22,28449.5
Total votes45,034 100.0
Democratic hold

2016

California's 39th State Assembly district election, 2016
Primary election
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Raul Bocanegra30,11944.4
Democratic Patty López (incumbent)18,47227.2
Democratic Joel Fajardo6,83110.1
Democratic Joanne Fernandez4,5386.7
Democratic Mina Creswell4,4186.5
Democratic Kevin James Suscavage3,4895.1
Total votes67,867 100.0
General election
Democratic Raul Bocanegra74,83460.12
Democratic Patty López (incumbent)49,64939.88
Total votes124,483 100.0
Democratic hold

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References

  1. Mason, Melanie (2017-11-27). "Breaking: Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra has resigned effective immediately, following sexual harassment allegations. Statement below and story posting soonpic.twitter.com/qdPuh1AoSz". @melmason. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
  2. "LA Assemblyman Apologizes for Groping Fellow Staffer in 2009". Associated Press. November 1, 2017.
  3. "WOMEN'S CAUCUS LEADERSHIP CONDEMNS SEXUAL ASSAULT IN THE CAPITOL COMMUNITY | California Legislative Women's Caucus". womenscaucus.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved 2017-11-03.
  4. "Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra should resign over sexual misconduct". Daily News. 2017-10-31. Retrieved 2017-11-03.
  5. "California lawmaker accused by 7 women of sexual harassment will not run for re-election". The Mercury News. 2017-11-20. Retrieved 2017-12-19.
  6. Koseff, Alexei (November 1, 2017). "California lawmaker faces calls to resign over Capitol groping incident". Sacramento Bee.
  7. LAUSD, Kelly Gonez (2017-11-02). "I'm deeply troubled by the news regarding @AsmBocanegra. My full statement below.pic.twitter.com/YTDImM5uEN". @Kelly4LASchools. Retrieved 2017-11-03.