A Democratic state senator from Minnesota is facing calls to resign amid allegations that he sexually harassed several women involved in state politics and groped a candidate in public after praising her buttocks.
The allegations against state Sen. Dan Schoen, who has served in the Legislature since 2013 and also works as a police officer in the Minneapolis suburb of Cottage Grove, were first reported by the online news outlet MinnPost .
Schoen, 42, a single father-of-two, is accused of having made unwanted advances toward women and groping one woman from behind.
Lawmaker under fire: Minnesota state Sen. Dan Schoen (left), who also works as a police officer (pictured right in uniform), has been accused of sexually harassing and groping women
Schoen has served in the Legislature since 2013. Pictured: The father-of-two listens to his daughter at work
Lindsey Port was running for a Burnsville-area House seat in 2015 when she met Schoen at a Democratic Party event.
Port, who is married and has children, said Schoen, then a state representative, stepped behind her and commented that he could tell she was good at door-knocking because of her buttocks.
Soon afterward, as she went to greet then-Minnesota Governor Martin O’Malley, he grabbed her behind and said repeated the comment, saying, ‘Yep, yep, that’s a good door-knocking ass.’
Port explained that she was initially reluctant to talk about what happened because she was new to politics and did not want to be seen as ‘the girl who can’t take a joke.’
In the end, she reported her interaction with Schoen to Erin Murphy, the then-deputy minority leader of the Minnesota House, who, in turn, took her complaint to the executive director of the House DFL caucus. Under state law, it has not been disclosed what happened to Port’s complaint because it was classified as a personnel issue.
In a tweet sent out Wednesday, Port explained why she decided to go public with the allegations against Schoen at this time.
Accusers speak out: Lindsey Port (left) says Schoen made comments about her body and groped her buttocks at a DNC event in 2015. State Rep. Erin Maye Quade said Schoen repeatedly texted her and invited her to his house also in 2015
Maye Quade went public with the accusations on Wednesday and tweeted about it
Port also broke her silence, writing in a tweet she refuses to stay silent
‘Today I’m talking about my own experience with harassment in politics,’ she wrote. ‘I’m standing with other women who are bravely sharing their stories, because this is not who we are. This cannot be the future. And I refuse to be silent. ‘
State Rep. Erin Maye Quade, a freshman Democrat from Apple Valley, said Schoen repeatedly texted her soon after she had announced her campaign for the state House in 2015.
Maye Quade told the paper that at first, Schoen offered her unsolicited campaign advice, later tried to ask her to meet him for a drink, which she declined, and eventually invited her to his house, assuring her that his children – a son and daughter – weren’t home.
Maye Quade said she later got a text message from Schoen, which was ‘clearly meant for someone else’ and which made her blood run cold.
According to the politician, the missive from Schoen read: ‘I almost got her. Working on her pretty hard, but I almost got her.’
Like Port, Mayde Quade, too, reported Schoen’s conduct to Rep Murphy, but decided not to pursue the matter further. After that incident, however, she said she made sure to avoid her male colleague ‘like the plague.’
In response to the expose, Schoen released a statement to MinnPost saying he doesn’t intend to resign and claiming that the allegations against him were ‘either completely false or have been taken far out of context.’
he went on to say: ‘It was never my intention to leave the impression I was making an inappropriate advance on anyone. I feel terrible that someone may have a different interpretation of an encounter, but that is the absolute truth. I also unequivocally deny that I ever made inappropriate contact with anyone.
‘Despite this, if any of my actions or words have ever made another person feel uncomfortable or harassed, I deeply regret it and truly apologize. This is not who I am nor is it the person I would want anyone to feel I am.’
But Democratic leaders have called on Schoen to step down immediately, and Republican Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka threatened to lodge a formal ethics complaint if Schoen doesn’t.
Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk, Schoen’s superior, called the allegations ‘sobering and disturbing’ after speaking with him Wednesday.
Dad: Schoen, who is said to be single, has a young son and daughter (pictured together)
‘I have discussed these allegations with my leadership team and we are united in our call for Sen. Dan Schoen to apologize, step aside, and seek care to address these actions,’ Bakk said in a statement.
Ken Martin, chairman of the state’s Democratic Party, repeated the demand, saying the party ‘stands strongly with the women who bravely shared their difficult stories, and all others who may have been harassed by Sen. Dan Schoen.’
On Thursday, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, a fellow Democrat, joined those calling for Schoen to step down.
Dayton says the reports are ‘totally unacceptable’ and that Schoen should resign immediately.
Schoen served two terms in the state House before being elected to the state Senate last year. A resignation would spark a special election in a competitive district – while Schoen is a Democrat, two Republican House members represent the area.
According to the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library’s website, Schoen has associate degrees in emergency medical services and in criminal justice.
His religious affiliation is listed as Lutheran and his martial status is ‘single.’
The allegations come amid an avalanche of sexual harassment and assault allegations against powerful figures in politics, media and entertainment, including movie producer Harvey Weinstein; director Roman Polanski; Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey; Hollywood A-listers Jeremy Piven and Dustin Hoffman, and Gossip Girl star Ed Westwick, to name just a few.