Young Dems in Louisville, Lexington & former staffer demand Rep. Grossberg’s resignation
Young Democrats in Kentucky’s two most populous counties, as well as a former campaign staffer, called on embattled state representative Daniel Grossberg to resign Friday.
Louisville Young Democrats said in a statement Friday morning they were “deeply disturbed by the allegations made against state Rep. Daniel Grossberg as reported by the Herald Leader,” and called on him to resign. The married 45-year-old lawmaker was previously president of the organization.
The group added that Grossberg’s resignation would be “what is best for our members, our party and our state to move forward.”
In a separate statement, Fayette County Young Democrats said, “amid numerous allegations of conduct unbecoming to any elected official, the Fayette County Young Democrats call on Rep. Daniel Grossberg to resign immediately.”
They added, “conduct of the kind alleged has no place in our commonwealth.”
Grossberg, a Louisville Democrat who represents the 30th House District, has been accused of sexual harassment by multiple women via reporting in the Herald-Leader. The women detailed their experiences with the lawmaker and provided text messages corroborating their accounts.
The first-term lawmaker is also the subject of investigations by the Legislative Ethics Commission and the Legislative Research Commission, the administrative arm of the state’s legislative branch.
Grossberg, who is running unopposed in November, and his attorney Anna Whites have steadfastly denied any impropriety or misuse of his power at every turn. Whites told the Herald-Leader in a Friday statement responding to the Young Democrat groups’ statements that Grossberg “has not engaged in sexual harassment”
“His communications with several female peers appear to have been taken out of context for the purposes of media stories. He appreciates the (Louisville Young Democrats’) passion for protection of its members and third parties from harassment, as this is a cause he supported when he led that organization for four years and continues to support as an elected official,” Whites said.
“(Grossberg) affirms his earlier apology if he made anyone dealing with him uncomfortable. He has requested a public ethics hearing and looks forward to refuting the unfounded charges against him.”
While defending some of Grossberg’s reported actions, Whites has also mentioned the lawmaker has a “neurodivergent diagnosis,” placing him on the autism spectrum, which means his brain processes information differently.
Later Friday morning, former campaign staffer Mary Wurtz — she called Grossberg her “former mentor” — joined Louisville Young Democrats’ call for Grossberg to resign. She wrote in a statement sent to the Herald-Leader that it was “time for Rep. Grossberg to step down.”
“I have opted to stay silent on this issue over the past several weeks so as to not center myself while an investigation plays out, but additional testimonies from young women in this state, my peers, plus his indefensible decision to drag autistic and neurodivergent people under the bus with him have led me to break my silence,” Wurtz wrote.
In their statement, Louisville Young Democrats said they stood in solidarity with the women whose stories have been reported.
“We condemn any and all forms of sexual harassment expressed in these allegations and stand in solidarity with all those who have come forward. We are dedicated to the empowerment of young people, especially young women, in democratic politics and strive to encourage young people to pursue and build careers in politics,” they said in their Friday statement.
“Louisville Young Democrats do not tolerate sexual harassment from current or former members, and especially not from elected officials, who can and must be held to a higher standard.”
Louisville Young Democrats is a chapter of the Kentucky Young Democrats., a political activism group for Democrats younger than 40 that was the first major group to call for Grossberg’s resignation.
Other Democrats — including prominent party members, commentators and even candidates for office — also have called on Grossberg to step down.
Louisville Young Democrats demanding Grossberg to leave his post is of particular note, given that Grossberg represents Louisville.
The city-wide party in Louisville took action as well, although they didn’t call for the lawmaker to step down. Instead, the Louisville Democratic Party asked Grossberg last week to refrain from attending political events or functions, at least until the ethics investigation into his conduct wraps.
In one story published last month, the Herald-Leader reported on two women who received inappropriate, harassing or sexually-tinged messages from Grossberg. A third woman in the story recounted an incident of alleged sexual harassment in Grossberg’s office wherein he consumed multiple alcoholic drinks in front of her and asked questions about her genitals and sex life.
Kentucky’s highest-ranking Democrats, Gov. Andy Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, have issued harsh disapproval of Grossberg’s behavior but have not called on him to resign. Beshear last week said Grossberg should give “serious thought” to resigning, to which the embattled lawmaker responded he has “given serious thought to his public service daily since elected.”
The Louisville Young Democrats on Friday agreed with Beshear, saying, “We support the statement made by Gov. Beshear and call on Representative Grossberg to take accountability for his actions, resign from office, and do what is best for our members, our party and our state to move forward.”
This breaking story will be updated.
This story was originally published September 6, 2024 at 9:40 AM.
