Human Rights Campaign Fires President For Helping Andrew Cuomo Respond to Harassment Accusations

Ken MeyerSep 7th, 2021, 7:51 am
 

Alphonso David Speaks at HRC

The Human Rights Campaign has announced that they have fired their president, Alphonso David, for his role in former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s attempts to deal with his sexual harassment scandal.

The LGBTQ advocacy organization said in a statement Monday that David had been relieved of duty after an internal investigation into his efforts to help Cuomo. The organization said their probe was connected to the explosive Cuomo report released by New York Attorney General Letitia James, and they found that “Mr. David engaged in a number of activities in December 2020, while HRC President, to assist Governor Cuomo’s team in responding to allegations by Ms. [Lindsey] Boylan of sexual harassment.” James’ report says that David was in communication with Cuomo’s staff and worked with their efforts to knock Boylan’s accusations against the governor.

“This conduct in assisting Governor Cuomo’s team, while president of HRC, was in violation of HRC’s Conflict of Interest policy and the mission of HRC,” the statement said. “The HRC and HRC Foundation Boards of Directors have voted to terminate Mr. David for cause, effective immediately, for violations of his contract with the Human Rights Campaign.”

The statement accuses David of pushing “significant untruths about the investigation and his status with the organization,” and the repetitional damage he faces is “enough to impair his ability to effectively serve as [HRC’s] public face and voice.” Joni Madison, the current Chief Operating Officer and Chief Staff of the HRC, will take over as interim president “effective immediately” while the organization’s board members work towards a new leadership arrangement.

Following his ouster, David released a statement on Twitter claiming the HRC “unjustly provided notice of termination to me in order to end my fight for the integrity of the review process and for what is right.” He previously accused the organization of trying to push him out over political optics instead of actual wrongdoing, and he concluded his latest statement by telling HRC to “expect a legal challenge.”

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to provide clarity on David’s connection to the Cuomo scandal.

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