Lost in the hullabaloo of new accusations that Democratic Rep. Steve Lebsock sexually harassed his fellow Democrat Rep. Faith Winter is the fact that these charges were brought forth before the current leadership appointed him chair of the House Local Government Committee.
That bizarre move leaves us praising the Aurora Sentinel, which is now calling for Democratic House Speaker Cristanta Duran to resign her leadership position “in light of her extraordinarily bad judgment in the scandal.”
But, wait, there’s more from the Aurora Sentinel:
“Undeniably, it was the antithesis of behavior expected from a legislator in a leadership role, and it’s unfathomable why Duran, knowing at least as much as the public now knows, would make such an onerous appointment.”
Exactly. Why did the Democratic House leadership give Lebsock a position of power? What did Rep. Winters think of these decisions? While ProgressNow’s Ian Silverii came out swinging when this story hit the media, what influence did he have over the elected officials when he served as Chief of Staff for the House Democrats? Why didn’t he act at the time?
The most egregious (so far reported) event seemed to take place at Sine Die, or the party after the state legislature ends in early to mid-May. In 2016, the year the event occurred, Sine Die happened on May 11, 2016. According to news reports, Silverii did not take the helm at Progress Now until June 1, 2016. Rep. Winter told House leadership the next day. What happened between May 11 and June 1? Why was Rep. Lebsock subsequently named chairman of the House Local Government Committee?
Even the Aurora Sentinel, which leans far left, is asking these questions of Democratic leadership. As of the time we published this post, nobody has answered why they would put Lebsock, who clearly abused his position of power, into a position with even more power. Speaker Duran, what’s the answer?