Kentucky lawmaker under investigation for harassment rejects Beshear’s request to resign

(The Center Square) – The attorney representing state Rep. Daniel Grossberg, a Louisville Democrat under investigation for harassment and inappropriate behavior, told The Center Square on Friday he will not step down, even after Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and other party leaders called for him to do so earlier in the morning.

Beshear, Kentucky Democratic Party Chair Colmon Elridge and House minority leaders all called for Grossberg’s resignation after the Lexington Herald-Leader reported Grossberg had been banned from a Louisville strip club for behavior that included groping a dancer and soliciting another for sex by offering $5,000.

Friday’s report was the most recent in a series of articles from the Herald-Leader dating back nearly two months regarding allegations by several women who claim Grossberg subjected them to unwanted text messages, comments about their looks, illicit propositions and other “creepy” interactions with some happening in his Frankfort office.

Grossberg faces a state legislative ethics complaint and has been stripped of his committee assignments by House Democratic leadership.

“My client has spoken with his constituents, his Rabbi and his spouse, and intends to continue to do the job he was elected to and to serve his constituents,” Frankfort attorney Anna Pierce Whites told The Center Square in an email.

“The allegations in the Ethics Complaint have been proven false, and he looks forward to a hearing and the opportunity to rebut false or inaccurate statements made in the recent media articles as well.”

Grossberg was first elected to the state House two years ago. He ran unopposed after beating then-incumbent state Rep. Tom Burch in the three-way primary in 2022. The 45-year-old is up for reelection this year and again is unopposed in a heavily Democratic district covering several central and eastern Louisville neighborhoods. He defeated Mitra Subedi by 50 votes out of 3,208 ballots cast in May’s primary.

Beshear held a brief press conference Friday morning in part to call for Grossberg’s resignation. A month ago, he told reporters that lawmakers should seriously consider it. Elridge’s statement was released at about the same time, and House Democrats followed with their call an hour later.

“I just want to be clear and unequivocal, this conduct is wrong,” the governor said. “Nobody should face harassment in their place of work, in the capitol (or) anywhere across the Commonwealth. When it appears that a state representative is engaging in that type of conduct, we just need to speak in one clear voice that is absolutely unacceptable.”

Whites said she and her client call on House Democratic leaders “to have a clear and published policy” for individuals to file reports regarding lawmakers, with those complaints reviewed by an independent party.

“That type of policy, which was previously in place in the Caucus and is in place in all workplaces across Kentucky, helped quickly and appropriately resolve dozens of concerns each year,” Whites said. “Had that policy been in place and utilized, these issues would have been successfully resolved months or years ago.

“With regard to calls for his resignation, my client believes that they are premature and should be placed on hold until all evidence has been reviewed in a transparent public hearing.”