A sexual harassment allegation is straining Pa. House Democrats’ narrow majority

Newly empowered in the Pennsylvania House, Democrats are facing their first big controversy: how to handle allegations that a member of their caucus, Rep. Mike Zabel (D., Delaware), had sexually harassed a lobbyist.

House leaders on Friday emphasized their work to ensure harassment claims get a fair hearing through an ethics investigation, but stopped short of demanding Zabel’s resignation.

The episode underscores the fragility of House Democrats’ majority — so narrow that for the first two months of the legislative session, the chamber was effectively unable to function until special elections could be held to fill three vacancies.

At least eight House Democrats have said publicly they want Zabel to resign. The House GOP leadership team, as well as 16 Republican women in the House, have also pushed for his resignation.

“Harassment shouldn’t be tolerated, regardless of your political party. Rep. Mike Zabel must resign, full stop,” Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D., Philadelphia) wrote Saturday on Twitter.

“I join my colleagues, my friends in labor, and the women who bravely shared their stories and call for Rep. Zabel to resign from the House,” Rep. Sara Innamorato (D., Allegheny) wrote on Twitter Sunday. “We changed the rules to prevent this from happening in the future but it doesn’t excuse the past.”

The Democratic caucus can only advance its agenda if it remains entirely united. Democrats currently hold a 102-100 advantage, with one Republican vacancy in a safe GOP seat.

Against that backdrop, House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D., Phila.) — who was elected to the leadership post by her peers just last week — has refrained from calling on Zabel to resign. The lobbyist who accused Zabel of misconduct, Andi Perez of the labor union SEIU, urged Zabel to step down after Spotlight PA and conservative website Broad + Liberty last week published articles about allegations against the Delaware County Democrat. He’s been accused of attempting to make sexual advances while intoxicated.

Zabel on Friday said he would not resign but intends to enter inpatient care for an unnamed “illness.” He also said he would resign from his spot on the Judiciary committee so he can “better focus on my family, my treatment, and my recovery.” People familiar with the matter say Zabel has struggled with alcohol.

McClinton’s office said in a statement Friday that caucus leaders “agree that it is appropriate for him to take a step back from his work and focus on the challenges before him.”

The statement, issued on behalf of “House Democratic leaders,” noted that the chamber last week adopted rules creating a new process for handling claims of harassment and discrimination.

Perez and her allies had been pushing for such a process. Perez says Zabel caressed her leg in September 2019 while they were discussing legislation.

Perez filed a complaint with the House Ethics Committee in 2019 but says she was told the panel couldn’t investigate her claim because she wasn’t a House employee. Perez in February went public with her story — without naming the lawmaker — as she urged legislators to change the rules. That effort was successful.

The new rules expand workplace protections to include people, such as lobbyists, who aren’t state employees but interface with legislators on a regular basis. The rules empower the Ethics Committee to review incidents from the last five years, so the 2019 incident could be investigated if Perez decides to file a complaint.

“Everyone deserves to be safe at work and our caucus commends and respects the courage of those who come forward,” reads the Friday statement from McClinton’s office.

Despite calls for Zabel to step down, other rank-and-file Democratic lawmakers have privately echoed the sentiment from party leadership, questioning why Zabel should resign when the House just passed rules establishing a process to consider such cases. Some Democrats have also privately said the allegations against Zabel aren’t as severe as those lodged against other elected officials accused of misconduct in recent years.

For example, former Rep. Nick Miccarelli (R., Delaware) was accused of physical and sexual assault in 2018, including of another Republican lawmaker. GOP leaders stripped Miccarelli of his committee assignments and called on him to resign, but he remained in office through the end of his term.

Everyone involved is also aware of the potential political fallout. If Zabel were to resign, Democrats would have a one-seat majority. Currently, two more Democrats than Republicans are seated, but a special election to fill a vacancy in a GOP-leaning district will likely give Republicans another seat. It’s unclear when that election will be held.

Democrats wrote in their new operating rules that the “majority party” will stay in power, even if there are vacancies in the 203-member body. The party that won the most seats in the November election will remain the majority party until special elections determine otherwise.

Zabel represents the 163rd House District, which includes parts of Upper Darby and Drexel Hill. It’s a safe Democratic seat: Zabel won reelection last year with 64% of the vote, and Democrats in recent statewide elections have easily carried the district.

Of course, that’s no guarantee the party would hold onto the seat, but it’s a good bet nonetheless.

Whatever the political ramifications, several Philadelphia Democrats and at least one from Zabel’s native Delaware County joined the at least eight House Democrats calling for their colleague to resign.

“I believe Andi and the other accusers and stand with SEIU in asking Rep. Mike Zabel to resign immediately,” Rep. David Delloso (D., Delaware) wrote Friday on Twitter. “Harassment shouldn’t be tolerated on either side of the aisle.”