To the Executive Boards of UFCW Local 135, the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, the San Diego County Democratic Party, and the California Democratic Party: Close to the end of December 2016, two lawsuits were filed that made serious allegations against Mickey Kasparian, a powerful and influential force in Labor and the local Democratic Party. The lawsuits describe activities and situations allegedly created by Mr. Kasparian that violate moral, social, and legal norms as pertains to the treatment of women, as well as stand contrary to progressive and Democratic values. More than a month has passed, and despite a third complaint being filed against Mr. Kasparian and UFCW Local 135 for hostile workplace conditions and retaliation, leadership of UFCW Local 135 and the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council have only issued denials of the allegations. Out of deep respect for the institutions from which Mr. Kasparian derives his political power and position in the community, we opted to wait and give those organizations – namely the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, UFCW Local 135, and the San Diego County Democratic Party – the opportunity to address these allegations themselves. However, after the absence of any action by the leadership of these groups to address these issues, it has now become clear that if we do not insist upon it, the complaints of these women may be dismissed and diminished in a manner that does not allow them any due process in their own workplaces. We, the signers of this letter, call upon these named organizations to conduct a prompt independent investigation into the claims that women are suffering or have suffered sexual harassment, retaliation, and bullying in the workplace at the behest of Mr. Kasparian. We urge these organizations to protect current employees during the investigation(s) by placing Mr. Kasparian on administrative leave until the situation is resolved, as a claim has already been filed by Anabel Arauz, a current employee of UFCW Local 135 who expressed sympathy for Isabel Vasquez, that alleges Mr. Kasparian has taken retaliatory measures against employees who may not corroborate his version of the stories. In the case of the San Diego County Democratic Party and the California Democratic Party, we ask that they take up for consideration whether it is appropriate for someone who has been accused of such serious and disturbing allegations to be representing us as a delegate to the Democratic State Central Committee. In the current political climate, when we are actively engaged in resistance against a federal administration led by a man whose hallmarks are his blatant and well-documented sexism, his public admission to sexually harassing women, his bullying of those who are weaker than himself, and his retaliatory behavior against those who disagree with his views, it is more important than ever that we maintain moral clarity regarding issues such as the ones confronting us now. Because of Mr. Kasparian’s standing in the progressive community, our ability to stand up against cultures of discrimination, bullying, and harassment is compromised, unless we are able to resolutely acknowledge that we hold ourselves to the same standard that we demand from the nation’s President and his supporters. While the named organizations 1 may claim that this is an internal matter, we would argue that it is a matter that tests the moral fortitude of our progressive institutions, and therefore is of concern to all members of the progressive community in this region. We believe in Mr. Kasparian’s rights to due process for these allegations. And we strongly urge you to participate in that due process by conducting a prompt and comprehensive independent investigation into the veracity of these very serious allegations. Sincerely, David Alvarez, San Diego City Councilmember Victoria Barba, Democrat Livia Borak Beaudin, Democrat Laurie Black, Democrat Cory Briggs, President, Briggs Law Corporation Marcus Bush, Democrat Bernadette Butkiewiscz, Democrat Carolyn Chase, Democrat Max Cotterill, Democrat Olga Diaz, Escondido City Councilmember Masada Disenhouse, Environmental Activist Gabriela Dow, Owner of Mora Dow Consulting Ansermio Estrada, Democrat Daniel Firoozi, Democrat Marco Gonzalez, Democrat Ben Katz, Community Activist Sara Kent, Democrat 2 Carol Kim, Democrat Rachel Laing, Democrat Mary Latibashvili, Democrat Rev. Richard Lawrence Tom Lemmon, Democrat David Little, AD77 Delegate Joan Little, AD77 Delegate William Moore, Democrat Vivien Moreno, Democrat Fayaz Nawabi, AD77 Delegate Gretchen Newsom, Democrat Mona Rios, National City Councilmember Pedro Rios, Immigration Advocate Jose Rodriguez, AD80 Delegate Ramla Sahid, Democrat Lori Saldaña, former Assemblymember Lisa Schmidt, Democrat Cori Schumacher, Carlsbad City Councilmember Nick Segura, Sweetwater Union High School District Trustee Stephen Shepherd, Democrat Kevin Smith, Democrat Arturo Solis, Sweetwater Union High School District Trustee 3 Cesar Solis, Democrat Alejandra Sotelo-Solis, National City Councilmember Martha Sullivan, Founder and Proprietor, Grassroots Oasis Shawn VanDiver, Democrat Nora Vargas, Southwestern Community College District Trustee Codi Vierra, Democrat Michael Wray, Democrat Links to Key Documents: Naranjo v. UFCW 135 Vasquez v. UFCW 135 Arauz v. UFCW Local 135 Frye/McCormick letter Democratic Women’s Club letter 4