While San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chairman Nathan Fletcher, the adulterous spouse of California Labor Mean-Girl Lorena Gonzalez, sits in rehab his alleged victim is speaking out. Grecia Figueroa filed suit against Fletcher in late March, accusing the Supervisor of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and retaliation in the form of wrongful termination. Gonzalez was also named in the suit, alleging that she intimidated the victim, making threats to “ruin her” if Figueroa filed claims against the dirty duo.
Following the preemptive refuge-seeking in rehab and lawsuit, in late March Fletcher agreed to resign his Supervisor seat… but not until May 15. In April, the Board of Supervisors held an emergency meeting demanding his immediate resignation. But, Fletcher thought after cheating with a county employee who alleges that she wasn’t a willing participant, and amid accusations that labor law was broken to rid her from the county payroll… that he should stay on the county payroll, though.
As Fletcher’s disgraced tenure comes to an end in the next two weeks, on Tuesday the Board of Supervisors will decide how to replace the open seat. The Board is split along party lines in Fletcher’s absence, with two members signaling they want the seat to be filled by appointment, one saying they will vote to hold a special election, and one member who hasn’t taken a public position.
On Sunday, Grecia Figueroa spoke out publicly for the first time since filing the lawsuit against Fletcher in March. On her blog, ‘This is My Take’ she published a post titled, “A Crumbling Façade” written on the topic of sexual harassment.
Figueroa wrote:
It’s frustrating.
How do we expect to make progress and find common ground when self-interest reigns in the hearts of so many of our leaders?
Then she tackled the subject of “believe all women,” calling the tagline a facade, noting a discrepancy in which victims are treated:
Some use the phrase “believe women” as a façade, when, in practice, they mean “believe some women…if it’s convenient”.
Figueroa laments stigmas assigned to victims, especially those pesky inconvenient ones, as she has come to find herself:
It’s no wonder people feel they’ll be judged when speaking up about sexual harassment, if seeking vindication of one’s own rights leads them to be called a liar, a mistress, a gold digger, and far worse names.
It’s no wonder 75% of sexual harassment cases in the workplace go unreported. Because even other women will label the situation a “salacious scandal” before a single piece of evidence has hit the courtroom or an investigation has at least begun. That is an insult, and it’s no wonder women feel threatened to come forward.
While we wait for Fletcher’s slow-walked resignation to arrive, and the county board to play politics over filling his seat, Figueroa is succinct and on target, writing, “When leaders in the community choose what they support based only on their personal interests and ambitions, we all lose.”
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