• Facebook
  • Google Plus
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter

Menu

Skip to content
  • About
  • Staff
  • Contact
  • Support
  • Advertise
  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
Header image

Times of San DiegoLogo

Local News and Opinion for San Diego

Menu

Skip to content
  • All
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Education
  • Arts
  • Military
  • Tech
  • Life
  • Opinion
Search Thousands of San Diego Jobs
  • MarketInk: Dave Rolland Named City Council Communications Director
  • San Diego County Gas Prices Drop For 39th Straight Day
  • Record Number of Meth Deaths in San Diego County in 2018
  • Surfliner Offers Timeless, Relaxing Access to Southern California's Holiday Best
  • 4 Arrested, 4 Vehicles Impounded During DUI Checkpoint Downtown

Home » Politics » This Article

Democrats Call for Beiser Resignation from School Board, Joining Chorus

Posted by Ken Stone on March 20, 2019 in Politics | 320 Views
| Comments | Leave a Comment
Share This Article:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail
San Diego school board incumbent Kevin Beiser cruised to re-election.
San Diego Unified school board member Kevin Beiser, shown in 2014, declined to meet with the San Diego County Democratic Party Central Committee, the party said. Photo by Chris Stone

Leaders of the San Diego County Democratic Party voted 58-4 to call for the resignation of Kevin Beiser from the San Diego Unified school board amid allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct that surfaced this week.

Support Times of San Diego's growth
with a small monthly contribution

Become a supporter

The Central Committee’s vote in favor of Beiser’s resignation from the District B seat came after a discussion of the allegations made against him. The party also invited Beiser to attend the Tuesday night meeting, but he declined, according to party chair Will Rodriguez-Kennedy.

Beiser issued a statement Tuesday night denying the allegations and suggesting they were politically motivated.

[contextly_sidebar id=”fFLmVAp5i5YhLzJBNNPh4J1hnwGnAHZK”]”We will take swift action against any public official who uses their power to abuse others,” Rodriguez-Kennedy said. “Kevin Beiser is entitled to his day in court, but we believe that he has lost the confidence of the public and will not be able to focus on the important work of the people.”

A lawsuit filed Monday named Beiser and his spouse, Dan Mock, as defendants, alleging that Beiser date-raped the plaintiff and made increasingly aggressive and physically abusive attempts to seduce him between 2013 and last year.

The suit also alleges that Mock failed to help the anonymous victim when he was being abused at the couple’s Serra Mesa home.

Further reporting by Voice of San Diego revealed that three other men corroborated similar interactions with Beiser in recent years. All four alleged victims were locally involved in politics in some way.

Local Democratic Party officials condemned Tuesday’s initial reports of Beiser’s alleged sexual misconduct, but pumped the brakes on calling for his resignation until a vote could be taken.

With the vote, the local Democratic Party joins a rapidly growing chorus of local political officials, groups and LGBTQ community leaders to call for Beiser to step down.

San Diego Democrats for Equality, the Republican Party of San Diego County, San Diego Unified School Board President Sharon Whitehurst-Payne and a joint group made up of Sen. Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, Assemblyman Todd Gloria, D-San Diego, San Diego City Council members Georgette Gomez, Jennifer Campbell and Chris Ward, Carlsbad City Councilwoman Cori Schumacher, Chula Vista City Councilman Stephen Padilla and Encinitas City Councilman Joe Mosca all called for Beiser to resign from the board.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the joint group said: “As LGBT elected officials who are committed to changing the overarching cultural and political climate to prevent sexual harassment, we want to ensure that every complaint is fully investigated and appropriately decided.

“That said, even following the principles of due process, there are cases, especially those with multiple and severe allegations, where the obvious right thing is for the accused to step away from their position. This is one of those cases.”

Beiser, elected to the school board in 2010, is a math teacher at Castle Park Middle School in Chula Vista. He has also filed to run for San Diego City Council next year in District 7.

— City News Service

Democrats Call for Beiser Resignation from School Board, Joining Chorus was last modified: March 21st, 2019 by Ken Stone

>> Subscribe to Times of San Diego’s free daily email newsletter! Click here

Follow Us:
Facebooktwitterrss
Posted in Politics | Tagged Dan Mock, Kevin Beiser, San Diego County Democratic Party, San Diego Unified School District, Will Rodriguez-Kennedy
Search Thousands of San Diego Jobs

Get Times of San Diego by Email

Our free newsletter is delivered at 8 a.m. daily.


Most Popular Today

  • Over 200 Protest Assembly Bill 5 and Lorena Gonzalez in National City Over 200 Protest Assembly Bill 5 and Lorena Gonzalez in National City 480 views
  • Report: Without Urgent Action, Sea-Level Rise Threatens California Housing Report: Without Urgent Action, Sea-Level Rise Threatens California Housing 400 views
  • Opinion: Measure A Would Stop Politicians from Turning San Diego into Los Angeles Opinion: Measure A Would Stop Politicians from Turning San Diego into Los Angeles 400 views
  • Woman Struck, Killed by Ford F-250 on Mira Mesa Sidewalk Woman Struck, Killed by Ford F-250 on Mira Mesa Sidewalk 310 views
  • San Diego Police Announce Saturday Night DUI Checkpoint San Diego Police Announce Saturday Night DUI Checkpoint 240 views

©®2019 Times of San Diego LLC

Menu

  • About
  • Staff
  • Contact
  • Support
  • Advertise
  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service