HARRISBURG — While the decision is pending as to who will be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 presidential election, a national group focused on preventing sexual harassment is calling on the campaign to fully consider how a front-runner for the position, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, handled past complaints within his administration.
The National Women’s Defense League is calling attention to last fall’s resignation of Mike Vereb who resigned as a top gubernatorial aide, secretary of legislative affairs, amid accusations that he sexually harassed a former female staffer.
While the resignation was effective Sept. 27, the accusation was raised in February. The accuser eventually resigned in March while Vereb continued in his role for more than six months afterward.
A $295,000 settlement was paid to Vereb’s accuser using public funds, and both parties are bound to a confidentiality clause preventing either from publicly discussing details.
Settlement documents show the governor’s office denied liability or wrongdoing.
“As the Harris Campaign and the Democratic Party consider their options for Vice Presidential candidates, we urge them to consider the handling of past complaints of sexual harassment inside the Pennsylvania Governor’s office. The American people deserve to know that, if called to a higher office, Gov. Shapiro will do more to ensure the safety and dignity of employees, volunteers and constituents in his office,” Emma Davidson Tribbs, director of the National Women’s Defense League, said in a statement issued Wednesday.
Harris hadn’t announced her running mate as of midday Thursday, however, her campaign did confirm she and the yet-to-be-named vice president hopeful would appear in Philadelphia on Tuesday for the start of a multi-state battleground tour. Multiple media outlets reported Thursday that Shapiro canceled planned fundraising events in New York this weekend, confirming the cancelations with Shapiro’s spokesperson.
Vereb, a former Republican state lawmaker, has a long professional relationship with Shapiro. They served together in the General Assembly, each representing a district in Montgomery County, and Vereb also held an advisory position under Shapiro in the Office of Attorney General.
Manuel Bonder, Shapiro’s spokesperson, pointed to Shapiro’s “long track record of protecting survivors and prosecuting predators.” He cited the former attorney general’s work to hold the Catholic Church accountable for sexual abuses against minors and how, as governor, Shapiro continues to support legislation opening a two-year legal window that would allow survivors to file civil lawsuits against alleged abusers and enablers beyond the statute of limitations.
“Governor Shapiro and his Administration take every allegation of discrimination and harassment extremely seriously and have robust procedures in place to thoroughly investigate all reports. Those procedures are implemented in every instance where complaints of discrimination or harassment are made and all allegations are promptly and fully investigated to ensure employees feel comfortable to report misconduct. In order to protect the privacy of every current and former Commonwealth employee involved, the Administration does not comment further on specific personnel matters,” Bonder said.
Davidson Tribbs said Shapiro’s office should have done better in preventing sexual harassment from occurring within the governor’s office, including to protect the accuser and potentially others who may have complaints themselves.
The National Women’s Defense League produced a report in 2023, “Abuse Of Power: Uncovering a Decade of Sexual Harassment in State Government,” that documents harassment allegations against 130 statehouse lawmakers nationally in the prior decade. Davidson Tribbs said the research found “there is rarely only one survivor” in such cases and that efforts to maintain silence around allegations can cause “potential silent survivors” to avoid coming forward themselves.
“Sexual harassment is especially rampant in our government and political workspaces in both political parties, and we need leaders who do better and will buck the pernicious status quo. We deserve leaders who will champion reforms that do not silence survivors, but empower and support them. We deserve leaders who will not brush sexual harassment under the rug, but will put accountability above politics. We need leaders who prioritize effective policies, protocols and a culture that prevents sexual harassment and protects survivors,” Davidson Tribbs said in the statement.
A collective of Republican women serving in the Pennsylvania House introduced a five-bill package late last year intended to boost transparency and protect against sexual harassment in state government. There’s been no momentum behind the proposals; they remain at the committee level without any formal consideration to date.
The measures propose to update the House Rules concerning harassment allegations, add settlement documents to the publicly accessible PennWATCH database, shield victim names from disclosure through Right to Know Law requests, establish a framework for the commonwealth to pursue reimbursement of settlement payments from those responsible for harassment, codify the federal non-disclosure agreement into Pennsylvania law.
A bipartisan group of female lawmakers in the state Senate, led by President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, announced plans for similar legislation last fall. While the bills haven’t been formally introduced, Ward shared a post Thursday on X, formerly known as Twitter, about efforts in both chambers and wrote, “More to come soon…”
While not citing any of the specific legislative proposals or planned bills, Bonder said Shapiro supports such initiatives to enact greater protections against sexual harassment in state government.