5 September 2021: Former Cuomo Aide Heading Human Rights Campaign Asked to Resign

Alphonso David says HRC’s investigation clears him of wrongdoing but some still want him out

Cuomo influence network member Alphonso David has been asked to resign by the co-chairs of the LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign (HRC). The move is interesting because David indicates the organization's board's investigators cleared him of misconduct related to charges raised in the New York state attorney general's 3 August 2021 report on former New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's alleged incidents of sexual harassment and efforts to retaliate against accusers.

Alphonso David, the president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), has released a statement today accusing the HRC’s board chair, Morgan Cox, and the HRC Foundation’s board chair, Jodie Patterson, of asking him to resign — although an investigation into him has cleared him of any wrongdoing, David claims....

“I have spent my entire career speaking out for those who are left out and left behind,” David’s lengthy statement begins. He reiterates that he was “shocked and sick to my stomach” by AG James’s report.

David, a former employee of Cuomo’s, was not only named multiple times in James’s report following an investigation into Cuomo’s use of his office to respond to accusations of sexual harassment, but David was also named as an active participant.

Here's is David's statement on Twitter:

Please read: Statement from Alphonso David, President of of the Human Rights Campaign pic.twitter.com/VL4O9jajPW

— Alphonso David (@AlphonsoDavid) September 5, 2021

Here's where David's claims get interesting:

“Despite the lack of any findings, the board co-chairs have now asked me to consider resigning, not because of any wrongdoing, but because they feel the incident has been a ‘distraction’ for the organization. They told me they reached this conclusion because they heard from two funders and a small handful of employees who expressed concern via email over the last several weeks,” David claims.

David himself called for his former boss should resign, but some LGBTQ advocates and elected officials — including those directly supported by David and HRC’s work — have also called on him to resign. Roberta Kaplan, the out president of the advocacy organization Time’s Up, who is also named in the investigation as someone working to defend Cuomo, also resigned following James’s report.

Previously, out Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel publicly said she “will not be accepting any campaign donations or support from HRC unless and until there is a new president of this organization.” Other LGBTQ advocates have made similar demands publicly, and there have been reports of discontent amongst staff at HRC due to the investigation.

Regardless of the nature of David's involvement, his participation in Andrew M. Cuomo's influence network is negatively impacting the Human Right Campaign's ability to influence policy and more notably, to raise funds. The thing to watch for in this developing story is whether that impact is negative enough to justify his firing.