As Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro steps into the limelight as a potential running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris, his record on handling sexual harassment claims against his aides and political allies is coming under tighter scrutiny. This week, the National Women's Defense League issued a statement warning that Shapiro, whose administration paid $295,000 in taxpayer money to settle a female government employee's complaint against a former aide, had enabled sexual harassment and reflected his office's "failures."
In the May 2023 complaint against former Secretary of Legislative Affairs Mike Vereb, who was accused of making crude and sexually charged remarks, the female employee accused Shapiro's office of pushing her out of a job for coming forward. After the settlement and ensuing non-disclosure agreement, Vereb remained in Shapiro's cabinet until September of that year, when he abruptly resigned as news outlets obtained the public records and prepared to report on the complaint that was filed with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.
“Governor Shapiro’s office should have done a better job preventing sexual harassment happening in his own office by former cabinet secretary Mike Vereb, including protecting the survivor who bravely came forward, ensuring that any other potential survivors felt safe in speaking up, and ensuring the harasser didn’t have the opportunity to do further harm after the complaint,” Emma Davidson Tribbs, director of the National Women’s Defense League, said in a statement.
Tribbs urged the Harris campaign and Democrats to "consider the handling of past complaints of sexual harassment inside the Pennsylvania Governor’s office. The American people deserve to know that, if called to a higher office, Governor Shapiro will do more to ensure the safety and dignity of employees, volunteers and constituents in his office.”
Other voices did not shy away from directly endorsing Shapiro's rivals on those grounds, including a Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania Treasurer. "I want a VP pick that's secure enough under a woman, is content to be VP & won't undermine the President to maneuver his own election & doesn't sweep sexual harassment under the rug. I want someone that can speak to rural voters. That is @RoyCooperNC," Erin McClelland wrote in a post on X, referring to the North Carolina governor who has since taken himself out of consideration.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that McClelland was likely referring to the Vereb sexual harassment claim, but she could also have been thinking of another landmine from Shapiro's past. After being elected governor in 2022, Shapiro appointed former Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairman Marcel Groen to his business development team, to the dismay of Democratic activists who had confronted him over his refusal, in their view, to seriously address sexual harassment complaints against several party officials. In February 2018, then-Gov. Tom Wolf forced Groen to resign from the chairmanship over his inaction. Groen then circulated a letter among Democratic leaders accusing whistleblowers of lying about their experiences of sexual assault to bring him down.
"When Josh Shapiro brings these sorts of men to his table before even taking office, the message is clear: He believes women’s right to respect is not important," Gwen Snyder, an activist who had alleged sexual harassment against a Democratic delegate — an allegation that Groen dismissed — wrote in a 2022 op-ed. "Any and every gesture toward restoring Groen’s status within the party sends a clarion message that the era of accountability is passed."
"Unfortunately for Shapiro — and fortunately for the rest of us — Democratic women are not about to allow the misogynistic old guard to reassert its hold on the party apparatus. We are not going back," she continued.
Asked to comment on the handling of sexual harassment claims, a Shapiro spokesperson told Salon that his administration "takes take every allegation of discrimination and harassment extremely seriously and have robust procedures in place to thoroughly investigate all reports," adding that he has a track record of “protecting survivors and prosecuting predators" as state attorney general and supports legislation to provide victims of sexual abuse with more legal recourse.
Shapiro is among a group of potential Harris running mates that also includes Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. While Shapiro has received praise for his communication skills and enduring popularity in a pivotal swing state that he won by nearly 15 points in 2022, some have argued that picking Shapiro risks fracturing the Democratic coalition over his support for corporate tax cuts and vouchers, as well as harsh criticism of pro-Palestine protesters and threats to sue companies divesting from illegal Israeli settlements. The re-emerging reports of sexual harassment in Shapiro's orbit are creating an additional problem, potentially hurting him with female voters and, if he joins the ticket, complicating Harris' attacks on Trump's own sordid record with women.
Harris will announce her pick by next Tuesday, when she kicks off a nationwide campaign swing in Philadelphia. Although the starting point kicked off a round of speculation that Shapiro was the choice, the Harris campaign has cautioned against reading too much into the location.
