It is hard not to wonder what the woman who reported fending off unwanted advances from State Sen. Cliff Hite (R., Findlay) for months thought when she saw him explain his resignation by saying it was prompted by no more than a misunderstood request for a hug.
As with so many cases of sexual harassment, the minimizing explanations and insincere apologies compound the offense.
BEHIND THE EDITORIAL: Sexual misconduct cases continue to plague politics
Documents released by the Legislative Service Commission, about two weeks after the 63-year-old, two-term state senator quit, revealed that a woman working for the commission had finally complained after months of harassment from Mr. Hite.
He had not merely made regrettable requests for hugs and spoken to her in a “a way that was not appropriate for a married man,” as he said. The woman reported that he had been showing up in her office repeatedly, propositioning her for sex, sharing intimate details of his sex life with his wife, and begging her to become his mistress.
The woman reported that she was so upset that she had missed work and had had trouble eating and sleeping.
After urging Mr. Hite to resign, Senate President Larry Obhof said he believed the resolution of the matter should send a clear message that inappropriate activity in the state Senate is not tolerated.
Not so fast.
Only after news organizations, including The Blade, requested records from the General Assembly about any other similar complaints in Columbus did it come to light that complaints have been filed accusing three other lawmakers and an aide of violating discrimination and harassment policies in recent years.
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Legislative leaders ordered mandatory training to prevent harassment and again pronounced the case closed.
But this case is not closed. Neither the departure of Mr. Hite, nor some sensitivity training is going to close it.
No one can argue with a straight face that someone in a position of power who is making inappropriate sexual remarks or requests of a person with less power is doing so out of an innocent lack of understanding that this is wrong.
The problem is not a lack of training. The problem is a culture that accepts this behavior. And maybe the problem is that the consequences for people who behave this way have not been severe enough, until now.
First Published November 24, 2017, 12:45 p.m.
