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.
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.
”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