As the Ohio House prepared to vote on a new House speaker Monday, a Republican legislative aide went public with accusations of enduring sexist and racist behavior from a few members and staff backing Rep. Larry Householder for the leadership.

Marissa Reyes posted a letter Sunday on Twitter that she wrote Rep. Kristin Boggs, D-Columbus, about how she “had to endure months of unacceptable treatment and was forced to listen to the representatives’ opinions that painted myself, my family and other Hispanics in a demeaning light.”

Reyes said that when she disagreed, she was told that “women do not think logically” and that her views don’t matter because her parents are immigrants from Latin America. She said “Rep. Householder-affiliated staffers” would enter her office, stay for hours and “on more than one occasion, they came around my desk and made unwanted advances.”

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That caused her to change the orientation of her desk, she wrote, “to prevent them from cornering me.”

Reyes, who joined the House staff in March 2018, said the treatment occurred while she was a staffer for Rep. Scott Wiggam, R-Wooster, whom she specifically noted is a Householder supporter.

The letter didn't appear to impact the vote. Householder, R-Glenford, narrowly edged Speaker Ryan Smith in a 52-46 vote that divided both Republicans and Democrats.

Reyes, who currently works for Rep. Bob Cupp, R-Lima, wrote to Boggs because she lives in her Columbus district. She wrote that she has “suffered degrading comments and harassment by the very people that the Democratic caucus may choose to empower on Jan. 7.” In the end, 26 Democrats did vote for Householder.

Reyes said Wiggam called her “the good type of Mexican.” Wiggam said he just learned about the accusations Sunday, when the letter was made public.

“The allegations made against me are absolutely false," he said. "I believe that the allegations were politically motivated and coordinated by the outgoing leadership team. I am seeking House legal counsel and I call for a full investigation to clear my name.”

Householder, whose own staffers were not accused of misconduct, said: “It appears these allegations were complaints made to current leadership many months ago. Current leadership had ample time to have completed an investigation and dealt with the results appropriately.”

Boggs, who has a background of working with crime victims, said she believes that what Reyes wrote is likely to have occurred, and she wants to see processes followed. It did not impact her backing of Householder.

“Ultimately the speaker is in charge of managing and addressing this type of misconduct and bad behavior," she said. "But she wants to make someone who’s not in charge yet the fall guy for it. I’m having trouble reconciling that.”

The complaint filed with the administrative staff has been handled appropriately, said Brad Miller, spokesman for Smith, declining further comment in on "ongoing investigations."

Reyes also mentioned an interaction with now-former Rep. Wes Retherford, R-Hamilton, at a German Village bar, Club 185, following a Christmas party, where, she alleges, he told her that he would “prefer to see me with my dress off" and warned her and others not to talk about what happened at the party.

In the letter, Reyes said she has reported some of her experiences to the House and “the appropriate attention and resources have been devoted to ensuring this behavior is dealt with.”

She also accused Rep. Derek Merrin, R-Monclova, of telling her that Mexicans are dangerous people. She said another legislative staffer would “yell stereotypical Spanish words, such as ‘Taco! Nacho! Burrito!’ when he overheard me speaking in Spanish, and (he) changed my name to Maria ‘because that sounds more Mexican.’”

"It's false. It's pure slander," Merrin said of his alleged statement, adding that Sunday was the first he'd heard of the complaint. "It probably was coordinated with the Smith camp, designed to try to get a few extra votes in the speaker's race."

Some Republicans who backed Smith for speaker tweeted about the letter. Rep. Steve Arndt, R-Port Clinton, said he was saddened to read it.

“Marissa is a fantastic person and certainly did not deserve to be treated this way," he said. "I understood you had issues with your boss, but not nearly to this extent.”

jsiegel@dispatch.com

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