Despite ongoing controversy over sexual assault allegations, Kevin Ortiz ran unopposed for 2025 president of the San Francisco Latinx Democratic Club (SFLDC) during the club’s general election meeting on Wednesday. Ortiz returned to leadership earlier this month after the club’s internal investigation concluded there was insufficient evidence to support claims made by two women. He denies the allegations, stating the encounters were consensual.
Ortiz took a leave of absence in July after accusations of sexual assault surfaced. The allegations, first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, came from Zahra Hajee, a former aide to Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, and a second anonymous woman. Both women said they reported their allegations to Nancy Pelosi’s office, and Hajee also filed a police report.
Following the Chronicle’s article, the SFLDC formed a special investigative committee to review the claims. Last week, the club announced the committee’s findings — which included an interview with Ortiz — leading to his reinstatement. The club said they would also present these findings and a draft sexual harassment policy to members at Wednesday’s internal meeting, closed to the press due to its sensitive nature.
Hajee told El Tecolote that she declined to participate in the SFLDC’s investigation, citing concerns about the club’s apparent interest in consequences for false reporting. Instead, she said she referred the committee to her published statements in the Chronicle.
“It is upsetting yet unsurprising to see SFLDC’s lack of courage by reinstating the man who sexually assaulted me as their organization’s leader,” Hajee said in a statement to El Tecolote. “From the local level to the incoming White House, all I see is a unified effort to keep abusers in power.”
The second accuser, who requested anonymity, said she was not contacted by the investigative committee and was unaware of the investigation. “They don’t even acknowledge there was a second woman, which feels intentional,” she told El Tecolote in a statement. According to the Chronicle, she, like Hajee, received a cease-and-desist letter from Ortiz in April.
Critics of Ortiz’s reinstatement have expressed concerns about transparency and accountability. “There’s this whole sentiment in the Latino community that we have to protect our own, but at what cost?” said Alondra Esquivel Garcia, president of the San Francisco Women’s Political Committee. “It’s not fostering a welcoming or safe environment for people who truly want to uplift the Latino community.”
Some community members have drawn comparisons to other cases, such as Jon Jacobo, a former progressive leader currently under house arrest awaiting trial for sexual assault and domestic violence allegations. Despite a detailed accusation by Sasha Perigo, Jacobo continued to hold leadership roles within Latinx groups in the Mission. Years later, The Standard reported that three more women filed police reports against him, alleging stalking, harassment and physical violence.
San Francisco’s Democratic Party recently passed new assault and harassment policies following a series of accusations against local club leaders, including Jacobo, Ortiz and Jay Cheng, whose group also retained him as executive director after allegations made against him resurfaced.
Meanwhile, others have expressed concern that the city’s Latinx community may fragment at a critical moment as anti-immigrant and anti-Latino sentiments rise nationally.
The anonymous accuser told El Tecolote there is a “clear racial and political double standard” in how sexual abuse allegations are addressed. “We should take all credible allegations seriously, instead of only focusing on progressive Latino men,” she said
Neither SFLDC nor Ortiz responded to El Tecolote’s requests for comment.