Kavanaugh Accuser: Commissioners Issue Statement Of Support

BOULDER, CO - The Boulder County Commissioners issued a statement late Monday afternoon in support of Boulder resident Debbie Ramirez after Ramirez's public sexual misconduct accusation of against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. "Knowing the personal peril and unwanted spotlight that a modest civil servant like Debbie has put herself in to shed light on an all-too common occurrence of men harassing and humiliating women when they’re at their most vulnerable, grants her even more respect in our eyes," wrote Boulder's all-female Board of County Commissioners.

Ramirez is currently an employee with the County Department of Housing and Human Services. "She has spent the last five and a half years with Boulder County coordinating financial resources for low-income families by matching requests for support with available funding sources, matching community donors with families and individuals during the holidays, and recruiting and working with community volunteers in support of families and children," wrote County Commissioners Cindy Domenico, Elise Jones, and Deb Gardner. "Her work has been exemplary and always a model for providing the best in public service."

Prior to her employment with the county, Ramirez worked for the Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence, a Boulder organization that works to assist victims of domestic violence. Her former employer at SPAN, Lisa Calderón, spoke out on Ramirez's behalf during a rally at the state capitol Monday, reported Denver's News7. "She is someone who has great integrity,” said Calderón Monday. “She’s dedicated her life to working with victims.”

Boulder's County Commissioners continued in their statement to speak to the rights of victims in general. "It is our view that the proper reaction to assault or harassment allegations should be the immediate belief of the victim, especially when their choice to speak out comes at such an enormous personal cost,"they wrote. "We wholeheartedly assert that a person brave enough to speak up should know that they will be heard and that their claims will be granted a full investigation."

"Sexual harassment and assault should never be tolerated in our society," their statement concluded. "The more we can support those who have been victims of these crimes to safely come forward, the better chance we have of stopping the cycle."

Ramirez is the second woman to accuse Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct in a New Yorker article published Sunday night. The first, Christine Blasey Ford, is currently scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

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