When New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s former chief of staff was quietly forced to resign in early 2018, it wasn’t the first time he lost his job over allegations of sexual harassment.
Less than a month before he was hired by de Blasio, Kevin O’Brien had been fired from his job as a senior adviser to the Democratic Governors Association in Washington, the New York Times reported.
O’Brien had worked as a representative for Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat, at the organization and had served for him in other capacities since 2009.
He was fired in December 2015 after a woman employed at the association accused him of sexually harassing her. An investigation into the matter supported her claims.
Eric Phillips, a spokesperson for de Blasio, told the New York Times the mayor was unaware of the previous firing and a background check had turned up “no adverse information.”
Bullock, however, had been aware of the complaint against O’Brien and “fully agreed with the decision to end his employment,” he said in a statement. Yet, he did not warn de Blasio’s office of the alleged harassment, despite meeting with the mayor and O’Brien at least once.
“It’s clear that was not enough to protect these women from what has proven to be an unacceptable pattern of behavior on his part. We all have a responsibility to do better and to put an end to sexual harassment, and I’m committed to doing my part,” Bullock said in a statement.
O’Brien has blamed alcohol abuse for his “horrible decisions.”
