Andrea Ramsey, who was considered to be a promising Democrat in the upcoming House of Representatives election for Kansas' 3rd district, has dropped out of the race after she was accused of sexually harassing someone 12 years ago. Ramsey denies all allegations, but still dropped out and ended her campaign. As a parting shot, she criticized the Democrats for having a "zero tolerance standard."
Andrea Ramsey dropped her campaign for a House seat on Friday, denying the sexual harassment allegations against her and criticizing her fellow Democrats for their “zero tolerance standard” https://t.co/Cz8ltempQI
— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) December 15, 2017
In a letter posted on her Facebook page, Ramsey said that the complaint stemmed from 2005 and involved a recently-terminated employee. She called his claims "lies."
Emphasis added:
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.
Since I was in sixth grade, I wanted to be a lawyer. What drew me to the field of law was the idea of due process, that both sides presented their case and an objective judge or jury weighed the evidence. I have been swept up in decisions without due process. A man sued my company twelve years ago and made false accusations against me. Had the false allegations been brought against me directly, I would have fought to exonerate my name and my reputation. I would have sued the disgruntled, vindictive employee for defamation. Now, twelve years later this suit is being used to force me out of my race for Congress. Let me be clear: I never engaged in any of the alleged behavior. And the due process that I love, that drew me to the field of law, is totally denied.
She's got a point, and if what she says is true, it seems as though there was a massive overreaction on the part of the DCCC. KS-03 is a very vulnerable seat and one the Democrats have had their eye on to potentially flip in 2018. Perhaps Ramsey has a point--this "zero-tolerance" policy of demanding resignations and dropped campaigns before all facts are known may cause quite a bit of harm.
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