Kevin Beiser is Trustee of the San Diego Unified school board and has been slowly planning a run for city council. An openly gay middle school teacher from Chula Vista, Beiser could now be rethinking his plans for politics as four men have come forward accusing him of sexual misconduct. A lawsuit was filed against Beiser and the San Diego County Democratic Party announced they will vote to ask for Beiser’s resignation. The Voice of San Diego reports that these four men shared their stories about Beiser in a group interview with them in February. All were deeply involved with local politics during their encounters with him.
One of his accusers, Paul Crawford, a gay man from Chula Vista shared his experience when Beiser invited him to a pool party. Crawford shared that Beiser pressured him into having a threesome after:
I was violated. Was I raped? No, I don’t think I was raped. I’m not scarred for life. But I’ll never forget it.
I’m like, ‘You know, I really don’t know, I don’t want to do that, I don’t feel comfortable, it’s just not something I want to do. Then he said, ‘Oh, come on,’ and I said, ‘No, I think I’m going to go home.’ Then he took my shoulders – not aggressively – but he took them as far as directing me into the room, and so I did it.
Another accuser, Patrick Macfarland, ran for San Diego Unified school board in 2010 before dropping out of the race. Macfarland shared that he was unwantedly groped by Beiser:
We got into the Lyft and he touched my leg and slid his hand up into my crotch area. That’s when I kind of paused, looked at him, grabbed his hand and I said, ‘No!’ and flung his hand away.
Steve Padilla, who is a Chula Vista council member, also recalls having Beiser touch him in an unwanted way.
The fourth accuser who is part of the lawsuit was Beiser’s campaign manager for his 2014 school board re-election. He has not publicly been named, but is listed as John Doe. Doe shared that Beiser had frequently made passes at him.
Doe’s complaint reads:
When (the former campaign manager) was incapacitated by alcohol, Mr. Beiser took him to a hotel and sodomized him
After Tuesday’s meeting, the San Diego Democratic Party voted to ask Beiser to resign. He is currently on leave.
In a statement, Beiser says:
There is no truth to these allegations. We believe they are politically motivated and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves.
h/t: Voice of San Diego
