Democratic Party split over how to respond to Niezgodski sexual harassment settlement

SOUTH BEND — Harassment allegations against Indiana Sen. David Niezgodski are troubling fellow members of the local Democratic Party, including at least two other candidates in the May 7 primary who have asked for him to resign.

But, noting how she likewise is troubled, St. Joseph County Democratic Party Chairwoman Diana Hess said the party doesn't plan to ask Niezgodski to resign. Members of the party tried to draft a joint statement, she told The Tribune, but could not agree on the nature of the statement.

“We’re very concerned about the allegations,” she said. Without having seen the accuser’s complaint and without having spoken with Niezgodski, she said, “We’re trying to get our heads around this.”

“We have a lot of good candidates, and we’re trying to focus on them,” Hess added. “We don’t want any distractions from their races.”

The allegations

The allegations, dating back to 2017, emerged in an opinion piece by IndyStar opinion editor James Briggs after the accuser's father approached him with documents and phone recordings. The story was published Thursday on the websites of The Star and The Tribune, both members of the USA TODAY Network. Niezgodski is running against fellow Democrat Tim Swager, who currently serves as county treasurer.

Niezgodski allegedly sent dozens of texts to the woman as she tried to sever ties with his private business, Niezgodski Plumbing, in 2017. The accuser's complaint to the Indiana Civil Rights Commission, which a source obtained through a public records request and provided to The Tribune, said she quit her job to get away from the senator, citing unwelcome comments about her appearance and romantic advances he made toward her in voicemails and messages.

"I love you. I love you in all the right ways," a man sounding like Niezgodski says in a three-minute voicemail to the former employee.

But even after Niezgodski and his accuser reached an $8,000 settlement in early 2018, including an agreement prohibiting either party from discussing the case, the accuser’s father has been trying to bring the situation to the public's attention.

The Tribune called Niezgodski and left a message. The chief of staff for Indiana Senate Democrats replied with an email and a written statement. In it, Niezgodski states, “Seven years ago, my wife and I were trying to keep a valued employee with whom we had a personal friendship at our family business and I should have handled matters in a better way.”

“In retrospect, I regret how I acted seven years ago and take full responsibility for causing any pain or discomfort,” he continued. “This private personnel matter was addressed mutually and confidentially by both parties. I have no intention of violating this and I'm going to honor, respect and abide by that.”

Waiving confidentiality agreement?

The Tribune asked the chief of staff if Niezgodski would be willing to waive the confidentiality agreement that he and his accuser had signed so that they could freely share their sides of the story. The chief replied that Niezgodski wouldn't comment any further.

Jason Critchlow's five-year tenure as chair of the St. Joseph County Democratic Party ended in 2018, the year after Niezgodski's alleged harassment of his former employee.

Now serving as the Portage Township Trustee, Critchlow said he wasn't aware of the $8,000 settlement Niezgodski reached with his accuser until IndyStar's story Thursday. Critchlow said he'd merely heard rumors of an affair between Niezgodski and an employee, but he felt it would have been inappropriate to pry into another man's relationship with his wife.

"All I ever heard was this was a situation of infidelity," Critchlow told The Tribune Friday. "There's a lot of awkwardness there, so you don't want to go into it."

The accuser's complaint does not mention a consensual relationship between her and Niezgodski. The woman writes only that Niezgodski relentlessly pursued her after she began working for his plumbing company in late 2016. After submitting her two weeks' notice in June 2017, Niezgodski "continuously and persistently texted my phone and showed up to my home uninvited," she writes.

Her father also described to IndyStar how he witnessed Niezgodski entering the accuser's home when she wasn't there. The father says he confronted Niezgodski and made him leave, deciding against calling police.

'Anger and sadness'

Critchlow said the new revelations cast doubt on the senator's story about the nature of their relationship all these years.

Critchlow stopped short of calling for the state senator to withdraw from the primary or resign. He said he'll follow the lead of the area's top Democratic women. But as a father of a young girl and a member of a party that claims to lead the way on women's issues, he said, he's angry and wants a clear explanation from Niezgodski.

"It's hard for me to understand how we move forward talking about women's issues, which is the issue of the day, without some sort of response, without some sort of resolution," Critchlow said. "It leaves a very ugly taste in my mouth."

Democrat Heidi Beidinger, who’s running for Indiana House District 5, wouldn't publicly ask for Niezgodski’s resignation, saying she wants to choose her words carefully while she’s out of town. She’s torn because she’s worked closely on issues with both Niezgodski and his wife, Sheila, a South Bend Common Council member.

And yet, Beidinger said, she has “zero tolerance” for sexual abuse and harassment, both of which she’s experienced.

“I strongly denounce that kind of behavior,” she said.

And among Democrats, she said: “People are having a hard time. People are calling and texting each other saying, ‘Is this real?’ … There’s anger, there’s sadness. There are more questions than answers.”

South Bend Mayor James Mueller, the city's top Democrat, said he had known of a settlement between Niezgodski and his former employee before this week. But he argued "it's not fully clear what happened, exactly because this was settled confidentially by the two parties years ago."

Hess, the county Democratic chairwoman, acknowledged that the recent allegations are “incongruent” with Niezgodski's campaign messages about supporting women. She noted that the party at the county level focuses on the strategies of those seeking seats within the county. Those seeking statehouse seats generally are under the state Democratic Party.

That said, she added that the party’s policy is that it doesn’t endorse one Democratic candidate over another in the primaries. When asked about Niezgodski’s Democratic opponent, Tim Swager, who’d benefit from the recent news, Hess said Swager chose to run on his own without the party nudging him to do so.

Swager said Friday that he decided to run for the Statehouse late last year. He didn't run because of Niezgodski but did say that he has “strong feelings against” Niezgodski’s voting record.

Swager said Niezgodski should apologize and resign “so we can all move forward.”

He said he first heard of the allegations in 2020. He seems to recall it was from a blogger, and there was no way for him to respond or follow up. He suggested that other bloggers have likewise written about it and that it isn't “surprising” to see it surface again. When asked, he denied that he or his campaign helped to bring it to light this month.

Tyler Gillean, chairman of St. Joseph County’s Republican Party, refused any general comment on the matter. When asked if the GOP was involved at all in advancing the story that emerged this past week, Gillean said, “Absolutely not.”

“I heard it making the rounds years ago,” he said. “We figured that's something we wouldn't touch."

He also pointed out that Republicans don’t have a challenger for the Statehouse seat and, he noted, “It’s a safe Democratic seat.”

Asked if Niezgodski should resign, Gillean said, “That’s going to be up to his family.”

Some strongly support him still

Ahead of the May 7 primary, State Rep. Maureen Bauer, who represents South Bend in Indiana's House of Representatives, strongly endorsed Niezgodski. She's quoted in one campaign mailer sent this month, saying, "Senator David Niezgodski has always supported women, and he always will."

Asked to comment Thursday on the allegations, Bauer said she continues to support Niezgodski. Asked if the accusation casts doubt on his ability to lead, she said no. She compared Thursday's revelations to past criticism of the state senator ahead of a previous primary election.

"As far as I understand, it has been settled in the legal system," Bauer said of the harassment complaint. "I don't believe the victim is talking about it. So, at this time, I probably wouldn't comment on it myself."

In the campaign mailer, which Niezgodski paid for, Bauer credits him with voting against Indiana's near-total abortion ban, which passed on the strength of Republicans' support in a July 2022 legislative session. She said he also supported a bill that passed this March to expand women's access to long-term birth control.

“David and I work really closely together in the legislature," Bauer said, "and have been able to deliver a lot of stuff for the community."

June 2023: South Bend abortion clinic closes, drops out of legal challenge to Indiana's near-total ban

Mueller rebuked the Tribune and IndyStar's Thursday story as an "opinion piece that attacked the Democratic Party in Indiana."

"Democrats stand with women and for women's rights. Republicans don't," Mueller said. "And there’s just no comparison between the two.”

The story written by Briggs ran on both newspapers' websites with the headline: "Indiana Democrats ignored evidence of sexual harassment by senator." Briggs reported that the Indiana Democratic Party was made aware of the accusation against Niezgodski about two years after the matter had been closed, in 2019 leading into the 2020 election cycle.

"The party was notified about this matter two years after it had been closed," state party spokesman Sam Barloga wrote in response to a list of IndyStar's questions. "The contact was by someone not directly involved in the matter. The party does not comment on concluded legal matters under these circumstances."

Last year, ahead of Mueller's successful reelection bid, the mayor decided not to debate Republican mayoral challenger Desmont Upchurch, who had recently admitted to hitting a woman in an incident that occurred in 2000. Mueller chose not to participate because of scheduling conflicts, he told The Tribune, but he also didn't want to normalize violence against women by sharing a public platform with Upchurch.

Mueller rejected a comparison between Upchurch's misdemeanor conviction for violent assault and the accusation against Niezgodski. He also credited the senator for expressing regret about how he handled the situation involving his accuser.

The mayor said the new revelations don't alter his support for Niezgodski's campaign.

"State Senator David Niezgodksi should be reelected to continue fighting for organized labor and women's rights," Mueller said. "He's one of our most effective Democratic senators that we have in Indiana, and we need him fighting downstate for us."

That echoes Niezgodski's own words in his written statement.

"For nearly two decades," the senator wrote, "I have focused every day on fighting for working families in Indiana. I am proud of my record as a champion for organized labor, for the right to choose, and for finding solutions to the challenges like gun violence that plague our community. Those are the fights I plan to continue in the State Senate.”

Mike Schmuhl, a South Bend native and chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party, also issued a written statement about the case.

"Harassment, in any form should not be tolerated, particularly from a person of authority or power," Schmuhl wrote. "This recent report is distressing and has caused varying reactions within our party. Senator Niezgodski has rightly accepted full responsibility for his actions, and this matter was legally settled between the parties years ago. Ultimately, voters will have the final say on who they want representing them in this district."

Email Tribune staff writer Jordan Smith at JTsmith@gannett.com. Email Tribune staff writer Joseph Dits at jdits@sbtinfo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: State senator paid former employee after her complaint, signed NDA