A group of women who suffered sexual harassment at their jobs in the state Capitol don’t want “three men in a room” to be the only ones deciding how to stop the culture of misconduct in Albany.
Leah Hebert, Rita Pasarell and Tory Buhrans Kelly — who helped lead to the downfall of late Assemblyman Vito Lopez after complaining that he groped them — issued a joint statement saying they want to give input as the legislature tries to seize on the #MeToo moment.
“We have come together for the first time to raise our collective voice as people who have experienced and/or reported sexual harassment in the New York State Legislature,” they said.
The statement also came from Erica Vladimer, who worked for Independent Democratic Caucus leader Sen. Jeff Klein.
She said the state senator tried to forcefully kiss her outside an Albany bar in 2015. Klein denies the accusations.
Eliyanna Kaiser and Danielle Bennett, who worked for Upper East Side Assemblyman Micah Kellner, also signed.
Kellner left Albany in 2014 after sexually explicit email messages he sent to a staffer surfaced in a campaign. He admitted being “flirtatious” but denied harassing anyone.
Lopez died in 2015 after resigning in disgrace.
“Some of the bills currently under consideration by the Legislature cut back on the rights of workers, instead of standing up for survivors,” the women said. “That’s not progress — it’s a pat on the back.”
The accusers said they don’t want new sex harassment laws passed with the secrecy and chaos that comes with the budget.
They promised to issue their “own recommendations” for changes later this spring.
That would mark the first time any proposal to change state laws to protect sexual harassment victims came from women who have openly aired sexual harassment complaints.