Another politician — this one local — has succumbed to public pressure to leave politics due to allegations of sexual harassment. U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Corpus Christi) will finish out his current term but will not run for re-election.
A four-term congressman, Farenthold has come under increasing pressure to resign after news broke that $84,000 in taxpayer money was used to settle a sexual harassment claim against him by a former employee. Farenthold announced he is taking out a loan to repay the money, although he said he has done nothing wrong. He points to the fact that the Office of Congressional Ethics, which handled the settlement, had said the allegations were unfounded.
The U.S. House Ethics Committee, however, has opened an investigation into the allegations. The investigation was announced after news of the settlement arrangement became public. Other former staff members have since come forward with reports describing the congressman as verbally abusive and sexually demeaning.
Farenthold had filed to be on the March 6 Republican Primary ballot, where he drew six opponents — two of them prominent Republicans with strong backing. Three Democrats will compete for the Democratic nomination. The deadline to file was Monday, Dec. 11. After working through some complicated legal matters, the state GOP decided not to submit Farenthold's name and the Secretary of State agreed not to do anything about it, so the incumbent's name will not appear on the ballot.
Candidate Michael Cloud of Victoria has been endorsed by former U.S. representative and 2012 presidential candidate Ron Paul. Cloud is a member of the Republican Executive Committee and the former chair of the Victoria County GOP. His campaign circulated the following statement from Paul to the news media:
“I know (Cloud) to be a man of his word, principled, trustworthy and hardworking,” the statement reads. “I hope my former supporters will get behind him because our country desperately needs leaders with integrity, courage and moral character. Michael Cloud is that kind of leader.”
A second strong contender, Bech Bruun, has been endorsed by U.S. Rep. Roger Williams (R-Weatherford). Bruun recently stepped down as chairman of the Texas Water Development Board to concentrate on his campaign. The Bruun campaign also circulated a statement from their prominent backer.
“Bech is exactly the kind of person I would be proud to call a colleague in the United States Congress,” reads the statement from Williams. “Bech knows what it means to be a good steward of your hard-earned tax dollars.”
Farenthold issued a public statement just before noon thanking his family and staff for their support over the last seven years and taking some of the blame for problems in his office, but denying charges of sexual harassment.
"I'd never served in public office before," said the four-term incumbent. "I had no idea how to run a congressional office and as a result, I'd allowed a workplace culture to take root in my office that was too permissive, and decidedly unprofessional. It accommodated destructive gossip, offhand comments, off-color jokes and behavior that, in general, was less than professional."
He blamed stress for angry outbursts and treating people disrepectfully.
"That was wrong," he said. "Clearly, it's not how I was raised, it's not who I am and for that situation, I am profoundly sorry. An unprofessional work environment is not a crime, but it's embarrassing to me and to my family. It reflects poorly on the institution of Congress, on my colleagues and my constituents and they deserved better."
(A statement from the Farenthold campaign can be seen below.)
Statement from U.S. Representative Blake Farenthold (R-Corpus Christi) on why he will not seek re-election to a fifth term.
As you all may know, this week was my 56th birthday. And I'm fortunate enough share that birthday with my youngest daughter. And with every birthday, you take time to reflect on the past and take inventory of the future. I've been truly blessed with having such a wonderful family. My wife Debbie and our two daughters, Morgan and Amanda, have given me nothing less than their complete devotion and support through some of the tough decisions I've had to make in the course of the past seven years as a member of Congress. And when we gathered together recently for Thanksgiving, our decision was unanimous: I should run for another term because there's still work to be done.
You know, I'd expected a tough primary campaign in the months ahead. And the truth is, I was looking forward to it. I wanted the opportunity to explain myself and the broken system in Washington that, in many ways, has left me in the position I'm in. I welcomed it so I could address some of the concerns and discuss ways I hope we could make America better for everyone. As a representative of the people, it's inherently necessary that our government institutions, including the House of Representatives, are as transparent as possible.
I did not create the broken system we're working in and I want to change it. Change is what propelled me to run for Congress, joining with 80 new members of Congress elected in 2010. Most of us ran on a platform vowing to change how Washington works, to change the status quo that for too many years has left the average American behind. We're not professional politicians. We're small business men and women, doctors, police officers, veterans and we all wanted change.
I'd never served in public office before. I had no idea how to run a congressional office and as a result, I'd allowed a workplace culture to take root in my office that was too permissive, and decidedly unprofessional. It accommodated destructive gossip, offhand comments, off color jokes and behavior that, in general, was less than professional. And I allowed the personal stress of the job to manifest itself in angry outbursts and, too often, a failure to treat people with the respect that they deserved. That was wrong. Clearly, it's not how I was raised, it's not who I am and for that situation, I am profoundly sorry. An unprofessional work environment is not a crime, but it's embarrassing to me and to my family. It reflects poorly on the institution of Congress, on my colleagues and my constituents and they deserved better.
In recent weeks, there's been a renewed focus on the allegations that were made against me by a former employee several years ago. I want to be perfectly clear. The charges that were made are false. Now there's no special prosecutor on Capitol Hill, but the closest thing to a special prosecutor is the Office of Congressional Ethics. That bi-partisan panel conducted a month-long investigation into the allegations against me several years ago and it came to the unanimous conclusion that there was a lack of evidence to support this very serious accusation. In spite of this, I understand fully that this issue has become a political distraction and that I would be forced to engage in a month-long campaign for personal vindication. That's not why I came to Congress. Quite simply, my constituents deserve better. They deserve a primary campaign that's focused on the serious issues facing our country and our state and fixing a broken system. Therefore, I'm announcing my decision not to run for reelection.
Let me just say, I'm proud of the work I've done in my office and what we've accomplished. We've worked to reduce the size of the federal government and our irresponsible national debt. We've ushered through Congress legislation to provide much needed oversight of government agencies that have been wrought with allegations of fraud and abuse and we've reduced regulatory burdens on America. We fought to lower tax burdens on our constituents and fought even members of our own party to ensure Texas received the proper amount of disaster relief funding. The work continues on all of these issues. And I intend on devoting the remainder of my term to working on them. I am resolved over the coming days and weeks and months to institute meaningful changes in my official office. I owe that to everyone–my constituents, my family and this institution.
To my wonderful family, thank you for being there for me always. To my staff, y'all are the lifeblood of the office and I thank you for putting in the long hours, both in Washington and in Texas. Nothing of what we accomplished could have been made possible without y'all. And finally to the people of the 27th Congressional District of Texas: thank you. In giving me your vote, you also bestowed your trust in me to do what was best for our country and I thank you for that. God bless you all. Thanks.