Brown ignored complaints about ally, woman says

Sacramento Bee ^ | 10/27/6 | E.J. Schultz - Chultz

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A woman who five years ago settled a sexual harassment claim against a former longtime aide and friend to Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown came forward Thursday to criticize Brown's handling of the case.

Appearing next to Chuck Poochigian -- Brown's Republican opponent in the state attorney general's race -- Nereyda Lopez-Bowden accused Brown of ignoring her complaints about Jacques Barzaghi, who had been at Brown's side for decades before he was fired in 2004.

"He enabled Jacques Barzaghi for many years to continue his 'predatorial' behavior and harassment of women and men in the office," said Lopez-Bowden, speaking publicly about the incident for the first time.

Brown spokesman Ace Smith dismissed the appearance as "desperate last-minute smear tactics" by Poochigian, who is trailing in the polls.

"Chuck Poochigian finally crossed the line from desperate to undignified," Smith said. "Anyone who's looked at this whole matter knows that it was handled by an independent investigator with lots of integrity."

Lopez-Bowden, who lives in Arizona, said she contacted Poochigian's campaign several days ago about her desire to speak. The campaign paid for her trip from San Diego, where she was traveling, to Sacramento. She spoke at a GOP office.

Barzaghi, who first worked for Brown when Brown was governor, was suspended by the city of Oakland for 15 work days in early 2001 after an investigation found that he made inappropriate comments to Lopez-Bowden, then the city's international affairs manager.

At the time, some local women's groups criticized Barzaghi's punishment as too soft.

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Soft-on-crime, Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown

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http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/15862041.htm

She accused Brown of coddling Jacques Barzaghi, Brown's longtime confidant and colleague accused of threatening to fire her if she didn't have sex with him. Barzaghi was subsequently suspended for three weeks after an independent investigation, and fired in 2004 after his wife filed a domestic violence complaint.

''Jerry Brown enabled Jacques Barzaghi for many years to continue his predatory harassment of women and men in the workplace,'' she said.

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She referred to a 2003 news article in the East Bay Express, in which Brown said investigators had called her a liar about her educational background, which he said raised credibility problems about her. Brown questioned the 19 other women who came forward to complain about Barzaghi, saying ''I don't believe that's true.''