New Independent Committee Launches TV Ad Targeting Newsom and Villaraigosa for Abuse Of Power Over Women; #GavinToo; #AntonioToo
ENCINITAS, Calif. (PRWEB) April 30, 2018 -- A new independent expenditure committee today launched a powerful television ad exposing Democrats Gavin Newsom and Antonio Villaraigosa for their inappropriate sexual conduct with women in a workplace environment.
The ad links the two leading Democrats to other men who have been held to account for their own inappropriate sexual conduct towards women, including Harvey Weinstein, Charlie Rose, Roger Ailes, Matt Lauer, Steve Wynn and Al Franken. While those men, and many others like them, have appropriately faced punishment in the #MeToo era, Newsom and Villariagosa have escaped such punishment and instead seek a promotion. The ad, which is airing in all major television markets in the state and can be viewed at the committee's website, http://www.restoreourvalues.com, promotes the hashtags #GavinToo and #AntonioToo to hold them to account.
"The issue raised in this ad is trust and abuse of power," said Leigh Teece, Co-Chairwoman of Restore Our Values, an independent expenditure committee sponsoring the advertisement. "Gavin Newsom and Antonio Villaraigosa both abused a position of power and engaged in highly inappropriate sexual relationships with women over whom they exercised control in the workplace. This type of behavior is simply not acceptable and would get them fired in most workplaces in America today. It certainly would not mean a promotion."
As Mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a woman on his staff whom he supervised and controlled all aspects of her employment. As Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a reporter who was assigned by her employer to cover him as a major function of her job.
When the media exposed their conduct, both Newsom and Villariagosa issued official apologies and said the sexual relationships were consensual. The Restore Our Values committee takes that reaction to task.
"Both Gavin Newsom and Antonio Villaraigosa were in a position to impact the very livelihood and careers of the women involved. They had the power, the women did not," Teece said. "This is exactly the kind of situation that sexual harassment laws are designed to address. A woman who is being pursued by a man who signs her paycheck or influences how successful she can be at her job is in a vulnerable position, and whether she realizes it or not, the inherent imbalance of power raises serious questions about her ability to truly voluntarily consent. It's why in most workplaces in America today, someone like Newsom or Villaraigosa would be fired for their inappropriate sexual conduct with a subordinate."
In March, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amanda Renteria called on Newsom to resign from office over the very conduct that Restore Our Values is highlighting in their new TV ad. "We agree with Ms. Renteria's comments that California 'will not go back to a time when we had to publicly smile while someone with a history of harming employees and misusing his power gets promoted. No more. Not ever again.'" Teece said. "As far as we are concerned, this applies equally to Villaraigosa as well."
Restore Our Values is an independent expenditure committee supporting John Cox in the upcoming California gubernatorial election. The committee operates completely independently of the Cox campaign. Cox has no knowledge of or role in any activity undertaken by Restore Our Values, and the independent committee has no connection to the Cox campaign.
"As Californians, we deserve better than two flawed Democrats on the ballot. We want voters to realize that we have choices, and John Cox is a much better choice," Teece said. "Cox is a businessman, not a politician. He's focused on restoring California by making California safer, improving our schools, creating jobs, lowering taxes and getting control of spending and our unsustainable debt. We urge voters to support him in the upcoming open primary."
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To schedule an interview with Leigh Teece, Co-Chairwoman of Restore our Values, contact
Dan Ohlson at 626/419-1489, [email protected].
Paid for by Restore Our Values, an independent committee supporting John Cox for Governor, 2018.
Committee major funding from PISF, Inc.
Not authorized by a candidate or a committee controlled by a candidate.
Dan Ohlson, Ohlson Public Relations, (626) 419-1489, [email protected]
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