I’m one of Rep. Grossberg’s victims. I don’t want anyone else to suffer like I have. | Opinion

On the evening of July 30, my 28th birthday, I received a phone call from a former friend and colleague whom I hadn’t spoken to in months. She informed me that the Lexington Herald-Leader was working on a story about allegations of sexual harassment made against Rep. Daniel Grossberg and asked me to go on the record defending him.

In that moment, I felt a pit in my stomach start to grow at a seemingly exponential rate.

Warnings of the freshman Democrat’s penchant for “creepy” behavior towards young women have been commonplace in political circles since he was sworn in last year, but the anxiety I felt in that moment was more visceral. I had been dreading receiving a call like that for a different reason:

I’m one of Rep. Grossberg’s victims.

Within the week, I was sitting with my best friend by my side inside the Herald Leader offices, reading the written testimony I had shared with the LRC as part of their ongoing investigation into Rep. Grossberg.

I had remained silent for the same reasons that so many survivors of sexual misconduct do. I was afraid that Rep. Grossberg and his allies would smear me publicly and privately, that friends and loved ones would look at me with pity or disgust, that there would be negative consequences for my campaign.

I wish I could say that these fears were unfounded, but the truth is that in the month since the Herald-Leader published part of my testimony in a story on Aug. 20, identifying me as Woman A, every one of those fears has been realized.

Immediately after the article was published, my former friend who had called me on my birthday contacted me again. She was in a white-hot rage, screaming at me and calling me a liar. She threatened to “destroy my career.”

Grossberg and his attorney Anna Whites swiftly issued denials of the allegations, going so far as to suggest that survivors of his abuse simply don’t understand his “neurodivergent diagnosis,” that we are making these claims as part of an intra-party power struggle.

When Gov. Andy Beshear suggested that Grossberg should “seriously consider…whether a public office is the best or most appropriate place for him to be at this time,” Whites responded by saying that “Rep. Grossberg has given serious thought to his public service daily since elected.”

Reading that statement, I couldn’t help but wonder—was Rep. Grossberg giving serious thought to his public service when he got drunk in his office at the capitol, pressured me to drink with him even though he knew I’ve been sober for years, interrogated me about my genitals, told me about his open marriage, and asked me if I’d ever “topped a man?”

Let me be clear: I have nothing to gain politically or personally from sharing my story or identifying myself publicly.

When I sought the Democratic Party’s nomination in the special election to serve the remainder of my late friend and mentor Rep. Lamin Swann’s term, Rep. Grossberg was the first person to endorse me .

When I spoke to the LRC and the Herald-Leader about what happened to me, I had no idea that my opponent in my race for Lexington’s 4th Council District would be accused of sexual misconduct . Unsurprisingly, Rep. Grossberg’s campaign staff have started supporting my opponent, with one member going so far as to make a financial contribution to her campaign after the Herald-Leader story featuring my allegations dropped.

I’m coming forward and identifying myself publicly now because I don’t want young women and girls in Kentucky to see sexual misconduct from elected officials go excused and, as a result, be deterred from seeking public office themselves.

Shockingly, the Legislative Code of Ethics does not include any provisions about sexual misconduct. Our legislature must address this glaring absence.

In the meantime, considering that Rep. Grossberg faces no opponent in November, the only feasible way for him to be removed from office at this point would be for him to resign.

So, Rep. Grossberg, I am once again urging you—for the good of your constituents, our party, and our Commonwealth—to take accountability for your actions and resign from office immediately.

Emma Curtis is a Lexington resident and a candidate for the 4th District of the Lexington Fayette Urban County Council.