LA Mayor Eric Garcetti was aware of helper Rick Jacobs’ inappropriate behavior – CBS Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti had been aware for years of allegations of misconduct against his former deputy, Rick Jacobs, according to a new report Wednesday in New York Magazine.

Jacobs served as Garcetti’s Deputy Chief of Staff from 2013 to 2016.

FIL – LA Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Deputy Chief of Staff Rick Jacobs gives a speech at the annual reception at Bastille Day at La Residence de France on July 14, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California (Getty Images)

In July 2020, an LAPD officer who had worked as part of Garcetti’s 2014-19 security details filed a lawsuit with allegations against Jacobs, from sexually explicit comments to unwanted physical contact.

So in October 2020, journalist and former political fixer Yashar Ali claimed that Jacobs had harassed him at various political functions over the course of 10 years ending in 2015.

Immediately after this revelation, Jacobs announced that he was resigning from his nonprofit work and volunteer activities with the mayor.

In December 2020, a judge ordered Garcetti to submit a statement in the LAPD officer’s trial. In his affidavit in February, Garcetti denied having witnessed or been aware of Jacob’s behavior, according to the Los Angeles Times.

However, four people who worked with both Garcetti and Jacobs told New York Magazine that the mayor was aware of Jacobs’ behavior.

“I saw the harassment and the inappropriate touch,” Naomi Seligman, Garcetti’s former communications director, told New York Magazine. “I experienced it, I reported it, and nothing was done. So on top of the toxic environment that Rick created in and around City Hall, people were forced to tolerate his harassment, so they pretended it did not happen at all. . “

Garcetti’s office dismissed the allegations in the New York Magazine report, saying in a statement that: “The mayor has repeatedly and under oath said that he was absolutely not witnessing any sexual harassment from Mr. Jacobs, and if he had, he would “put an end to it. These allegations were false the first time they were alleged more than a year ago, and they are just as false today.”

Back in July, Garcetti was nominated by President Joe Biden to be Ambassador to India.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he would be the first LA mayor to voluntarily leave office before the end of his term of more than a century. Garcetti’s term ends in December 2022. If confirmed, there will be a special election to occupy his seat.

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