XPost: la.general, alt.politics.media, alt.business   
   XPost: rec.arts.tv.comedy.colbert-report   
   From: all.democrat.nambla.degenerates@disney.com   
      
   https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/01/09/17/8321528-6573905-image-   
   a-6_1547055571738.jpg   
      
   https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/01/09/17/8321230-6573905-image-   
   m-12_1547055672514.jpg   
      
   Accused of misconduct and urged to resign, John Duran wants an   
   investigation to establish the truth   
      
   Pressure is mounting for West Hollywood Mayor John Duran to   
   resign amid allegations that he sexually harassed fellow members   
   of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles.   
      
   On Wednesday, West Hollywood City Council members Lindsey   
   Horvath, Lauren Meister, and John D’Amico posted statements on   
   Facebook lamenting how the scandal is impacting the city and   
   urging Duran to step down.   
      
   “West Hollywood as a city is suffering as a result of the   
   numerous and repeated allegations against Mayor Duran,” Meister   
   wrote. “I believe that Mayor Duran should do what’s best for the   
   City—in this case, it would be to step down from the position of   
   Mayor, and perhaps, step away from the Council position so that   
   he can focus on these issues and the City can focus on moving   
   forward.”   
      
   On Wednesday, Duran told the Los Angeles Times that he believes   
   he is being targeted unfairly by council members, and that the   
   public should wait for the facts before making a judgement.   
      
   “I think, unfortunately, one of the problems with the #MeToo   
   movement is that any accusation against somebody is treated as   
   truth without any investigation,” he told the Times. “I think   
   every accusation of sexual misconduct has to be taken seriously   
   to protect victims. But once the accusation is made, there has   
   to be an investigation to determine what the truth is.”   
      
   Duran, who has served as mayor of the city since 2018, has been   
   accused by multiple current and former chorus members of groping   
   and sexually inappropriate comments. Jason Tong told the Times   
   that he left the choir after Duran slipped his hand inside   
   Tong’s underwear in a changing room before a performance.   
   Another chorus member, Brian Phillip Nichoalds, said Duran   
   slipped his hand under his waistband and made “sexually charged   
   comments” to him. He also alleges that no action was taken by   
   chorus leadership after he’d reported the incident.   
      
   In the interview with the Times, Duran denied any misconduct. “I   
   haven’t done anything wrong. I’m not going to resign,” he said.   
   “They’re going to have to wait for the investigation to occur   
   and reasonable minds to go through the accusations and draw   
   conclusions.”   
      
   But the city’s political apparatus appears to be angling for a   
   quicker resolution. On Monday, Robert Oliver, vice chairman of   
   the city’s Public Safety Commission, resigned in protest after   
   other commissioners failed to condemn Duran. “I’d like to know   
   why the rest of the commission would stay silent when we have   
   the second, third and fourth allegation against the mayor of our   
   city,” Oliver said at a public meeting.   
      
   Duran was previously the subject of a 2016 sexual harassment   
   lawsuit by his former City Hall deputy, Ian Owens. The suit,   
   which was settled for $500,000, alleged that Duran made sexually   
   inappropriate comments to his deputy, who he had initially met   
   on Grindr. Owens claims Duran told him, “I would bottom for you   
   any day,” and that he was tasked with updating Duran’s address   
   book with men he had slept with, noting each man’s penis size   
   and sexual skills. At the time of the lawsuit, Duran was also   
   reprimanded by fellow Councilman D’Amico for cruising Grindr   
   during public meetings.   
      
   After the first of two black men died at prominent Democratic   
   donor Ed Buck’s home, activists claimed that Duran—who spent   
   more than a decade as Buck’s attorney—dissuaded sex workers from   
   testifying to investigators about the donor’s conduct, according   
   to the Times.   
      
   Duran denied these claims in an interview with the publication.   
   “I don’t have any sway over the Sheriff’s Department’s   
   enforcement of the law or the African American [Los Angeles   
   County] DA Jackie Lacey making her determination on whether or   
   not to file charges,” he said.   
      
   In an interview with WeHo Times blogger Paulo Murillo, published   
   February 13, Duran denied the Tong incident, referring to the   
   chorus member as a “skinny Korean kid with pimples on his cheek.”   
      
   Correction: This post has been updated to accurately reflect the   
   nature of Duran’s comments to the WeHo Times.   
      
   https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/john-duran-west-hollywood-   
   resign/   
      
   TAGS: Barack Obama Homosexual Degenerate Gay Pedophile Democrat   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)