Should Josh Shapiro Be Kamala Harris’ VP Pick? Group Says ‘No’
A women’s group is putting pressure on Vice President Kamala Harris to not select Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as her VP candidate over his handling of a past sexual harassment case, Penn Capital Star reports.
Director of the National Women’s Defense League, Emma Davidson Tribbs, released a statement saying that Shapiro’s office should have looked into a case involving his former cabinet secretary, Mike Vereb.
“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,” Davidson Tribbs wrote.
Shapiro’s office allegedly spent $295,000 of public money to settle a female employee’s complaint against Vereb, claiming the former top aide made lewd and inappropriate sexual remarks towards the victim, forcing her out of her job. Vereb then abruptly resigned from his post in Sept. 2023 after the victim filed a formal complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) in May 2023.
Under a settlement, the PHRC complaint was resolved, requiring the woman to discontinue a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Under the agreement term, the governor’s office went above not admitting liability, the women agreed to waive future employment with the governor’s office, however, she was allowed to work as a lobbyist to the office.
Both sides are barred from discussing the terms due to a non-disclosure agreement.
These allegations prompted Davidson Tribbs to urge the Harris campaign to move around Shapiro as a vice presidential candidate. “We urge them to consider the handling of past complaints of sexual harassment inside the Pennsylvania Governor’s office,” Davidson Tribbs said.
“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.”
The unnamed woman involved in the case said she is focused on some of the bills coming to Shapiro’s desk regarding women’s rights that need his attention. “There is a large package of bills waiting to be discussed and ironed out that have been introduced by both chambers. But this package is quite substantive and hits multiple angles,” the woman said.
She hopes the bills will unify legislators and looks forward to seeing Shapiro “lean in and protect the women of Pa.”
According to the New York Post, Pennsylvania state Treasurer nominee Erin McClelland took to X on Jul. 23 to call out the potential VP contender on the same case and accused him of additional sexism. She also said he won’t be comfortable being in second place.
“I want a VP pick that’s secure enough to be second 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,” she wrote.
She advocated for the vice presidential pick to be North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who has since backed out of the veepstakes.
While she didn’t mention her state leader by name, McClelland expressed her concerns about the extent of Shapiro’s presidential ambitions if given a chance in the White House. “If I were in Harris’ situation, I would think very strongly about the difficulties that some women experience being in a top-level position, and having men around them that have to be satisfied with being second, third or answering to a woman,” she said.
