Kentucky Young Democrats call on Grossberg to resign amid misconduct investigation
Kentucky Young Democrats, a political activism group for Democrats younger than 40, is calling on Rep. Daniel Grossberg to “resign from office immediately” amid an investigation into inappropriate behavior by the Democrat from Louisville.
Members of Kentucky Young Democrats have made additional accusations of impropriety against the first-term Democrat from Louisville, in recent days, the group said Thursday.
On Tuesday night, the Herald-Leader reported Grossberg was the subject of an investigation by the Legislative Research Commission, the administrative arm of the state legislature. Three women shared text messages that often came late at night from Grossberg that they said were “creepy” or “weird” and made them feel uneasy.
Grossberg often commented on their appearances, telling one she looked “beautiful,” calling another “exotic” and, in a separate exchange, he sent a text to two women inviting them to a “lesbian-themed movie night.”
The Herald-Leader reviewed and verified each of the texts.
“The recent allegations of sexual misconduct against Rep. Daniel Grossberg are deeply disturbing,” the group’s seven-member executive board said in a statement Thursday. “Since these allegations were made public in Tuesday’s Herald-Leader article, several members of our organization have come to us with their own stories detailing Rep. Grossberg’s inappropriate behavior towards them.”
The organization said they will be “internally reviewing the allegations reported to us regarding Rep. Grossberg’s behavior toward our members,” as well as “reviewing our anti-harassment policies to ensure that our organization continues to be a safe place for all our members.”
“Considering the evidence we have already seen, as well as the experiences of multiple board members, we call on Rep. Grossberg to resign from office immediately,” they added.
Anna Whites, Grossberg’s Frankfort-based attorney, said her client “does not intend to resign.”
“The calls for resignation appear to be based solely on rumors,” Whites said in a statement. Grossberg “works tirelessly to benefit his constituents and Kentucky voters and continues to uphold the will of the people.”
Whites said her client “has not been provided with any allegations of sexual misconduct and does not believe such evidence exists.”
She adding Grossberg will “trust the Legislative Ethics Commission to undertake a professional review of the matter promptly and calls upon the Kentucky Democrats to allow that organization to do its work before engaging further in this matter.”
The Kentucky Young Democrats are the first political organization to call directly for Grossberg to step down.
Kentucky Young Democrats President Allison Wiseman told the Herald-Leader the vote among the seven-member executive board to call on Grossberg to resign was “nearly unanimous.”
House Democrats voted to temporarily suspend Grossberg from their caucus Wednesday morning after the Herald-Leader broke news of the investigation late Tuesday. They also requested a formal investigation by the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission.
“We believe this is the appropriate organization to review the issues that have been raised. Given the sensitive nature of these allegations, we have no further comment at this time,” House Democratic leaders wrote in a statement.
This breaking story will be updated.
