California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, who is running as a Democrat to be the state’s next lieutenant governor in 2026, has closed the case on the harassment allegations against her — at the state’s expense.
A PR firm representing Ma released a statement Thursday announcing that the complainant, Judith Blackwell, was abandoning her claim that Ma sexually harassed her , bringing an end to a three-year case that was set to go to trial soon.
“From day one, I said this was a frivolous lawsuit filed by a disgruntled employee who fabricated claims in an attempt to embarrass me in hopes of receiving millions of dollars in a settlement,” said Ma. “After three years of delay, I have been completely vindicated, and can continue my work on affordable housing, climate action and job creation without distraction.”
Ma’s attorney, Ognian Gavrilov of Sacramento, said in a statement that Ma had rejected multiple settlement attempts from Blackwell.
“This is a complete victory for the Treasurer,” Gavrilov said. “We were ready to have the truth be brought to light in the courtroom, but the attorneys for the plaintiff clearly did not want a trial and instead dropped all of their causes of action against Treasurer Ma.”
But there’s more to the story.
As first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, and verified by The Bee, while Ma isn’t paying any settlement, the State of California is.
Golden State taxpayers will pay Blackwell to the tune of $350,000, though the agreement specifies that doing so is not an admission of any wrongdoing.
“My client is excited that we came to an amicable resolution of her case and she is ready to move forward with her life,” Blackwell’s attorney, Waukeen McCoy told The Bee. “And this case presents that no one is above the law.”
McCoy said it was ridiculous for Ma to claim that she was vindicated in this case when the resolution included an exchange of hundreds of thousands of dollars. He said the case can only be dismissed once the state pays the settlement, which he has yet to receive. McCoy rejected Gavrilov’s claim that his side did not want to go to trial.
”I have no idea why she thinks she’s vindicated from this when the state had to paid $350,000 to resolve this matter,” McCoy said.
Under the agreement, all remaining claims against Ma are withdrawn.
In an interview with KCRA, Gavrilov called the Department of Justice choice to pay out a “business decision” made to save taxpayers the expense of a trial. Ma expressed disappointment with the agreement, which she was not part of.
“I’m not happy they’re getting anything, I really wanted my day in court,” Ma told KCRA.
Most Popular
Comments / 0