Santa Clara City Councilman Resigns Amid Allegations

SANTA CLARA, CA — Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor and local firefighters, police and prosecutors all echoed the same sentiment today at Santa Clara City Hall: Dominic Caserta did the right thing by stepping down as a councilmember and withdrawing from campaigning for a county supervisor seat. While Gillmor said that Caserta's alleged sexual harassment and improper behavior left "a terrible stain on our city," it means that the Santa Clara City Council can move on.

Caserta, a 12-year city councilman and candidate for the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors District 4 seat, issued a statement Tuesday morning saying he would no longer be an elected official capable of serving his constituents.

Caserta opened the letter with his political and professional track record, speaking about his efforts as a councilmember and a Santa Clara High School teacher and denied all accusations of harassment.

"I would never do anything to harm the health and wellness of my family, my students, my school district or our city," he said in his statement.

Gillmor announced Monday that nine police reports had been filed against Caserta since the city sent out a request to the community asking possible victims to come forth and report him.

Gillmor spoke in her statement about her personal connection to the claims since she has children the same age as Caserta's accusers.

"I feel sorry for what you may have experienced," Gillmor said. "But I also commend you for your courage. It's not easy for anyone, especially young adults and minors, to stand up to people in positions of power."
Santa Clara Unified School District assistant superintendent Andrew Lucia said Monday that Caserta was still employed by the school district.

Gillmor said the process to replace Caserta on the City Council will be discussed at its meeting on May 22.

The mayor also said that while Caserta will not be censured because he resigned, a censure policy will be discussed at tonight's meeting in the case that similar allegations surface with another councilmember.

"We've never needed this in the past, but it looks like we might need it for the future," Gillmor said.

Members of the San Jose Police Officers' Association, San Jose Fire Fighters, IAFF Local 230 and the Santa Clara County Government Attorneys Association also spoke out today to condemn Caserta's alleged actions and encourage former San Jose councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio to follow in Caserta's footsteps and withdraw his candidacy for Supervisor Ken Yeager's seat.

Oliverio faced sexual harassment allegations in 2014 after former staffer Denelle Fedor filed a lawsuit against him. Police association president Paul Kelly described the allegations as "containing a litany of verbal abuse and plain creepy conversations."

Caserta's former campaign manager Ian Crueldad originally reported his alleged inappropriate actions in relation to a female campaign volunteer. Crueldad spoke again in front of the media today, saying he was pleased to see the show of support he received when he reported the misconduct.

"I cannot sit idly by and let women get treated this way," Crueldad said. "The more of us that say something, the better our community will be."

The law enforcement officials said men should be aware and report any acts of sexual harassment or abuse "whenever and wherever it's observed" and should be held accountable if they do not do so.

"No excuses, no cover up," Kelly said. "We as a society must do better. Men must do better."

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Santa Clara Mayor Calls On Councilman To Resign

By Bay City News Service

Photo: Shutterstock.com