Fresno candidate alleges former Kamala Harris staffer harassed him and her office mishandled reports
A Fresno City Council candidate alleges that a former staffer for Sen. Kamala Harris’ office in Fresno has harassed him for months and the senator’s office did little to address his complaints.
Tyler Maxwell says in a complaint to the senator’s office that the Fresno district director at the time, Matt Rogers, began harassing him, his family and close friends in February when Maxwell launched his bid for the District 4 seat on the Fresno City Council.
“I understand that there is certainly a sharp division between what is legal and what is ethical,” Maxwell writes in the letter. “However, I hope to at the very least convince you that what your staffer has been doing is of poor moral character and a poor reflection on the office of Senator Kamala Harris.”
Rogers no longer works for the senator’s office, but Maxwell and others say Harris’ staff never followed up on his complaint and broke promises to keep Maxwell’s complaint confidential. In an interview with The Bee, Maxwell said Rogers continues to harass him.
Staff in Harris’ office declined The Bee’s request to answer specific questions about the matter and instead emailed a statement: “Matt Rogers is no longer a U.S. Senate employee. Beyond that, the office cannot comment on personnel matters.
“A thorough search for qualified candidates is already underway and Senator Harris is looking forward to welcoming a district director who shares her values and will best serve her constituents in the Central Valley.”
Rogers, through his attorney Brian Whelan, denied harassing Maxwell. Rogers endorsed Maxwell’s opponent in the District 4 race and recently resigned from the Fresno County Democratic Central Committee over its endorsement of Maxwell. In a statement through Whelan, Rogers said Maxwell’s allegations are a “smear” and “retribution” for endorsing Maxwell’s election opponent, Nathan Alonzo.
Humberto Gomez Jr., the Central Valley regional director for the California Democratic Party, said in an interview with The Bee that the way the senator’s office handled Maxwell’s complaint could prevent others from reporting misconduct.
“I think in future situations, if they’re not handled correctly, people are going to be afraid to speak up,” Gomez said.
After Harris staffers “stalled for two months and didn’t follow up with Tyler,” Gomez made a call urging staff to move forward, he said.
“I said, ‘Look, you have to move forward. Why isn’t this investigation moving forward? Why isn’t Matt Rogers being held accountable?’ These young kids felt nothing was going to be done and they were going to flush it down the toilet and sweep it under the rug.”
Letter outlines Maxwell’s complaints
Maxwell provided The Bee a copy of the letter he said he submitted to the senator’s office.
In the letter, Maxwell says Rogers began repeatedly texting and calling his girlfriend in late February alleging Maxwell cheated on her. The conversations were unwanted, and at one point Maxwell’s girlfriend considered filing a restraining order against Rogers, the letter says. Maxwell included screenshots of the messages.
“This would prove to be a common tactic by Rogers to discredit my name in an attempt of character assassination against me,” Maxwell says in the letter.
In March, Maxwell was with a friend at Whole Foods when he saw Rogers. Maxwell and Rogers did not speak to one another or say hello, but Rogers followed Maxwell and his friend through the store and stood behind them in the check-out line, Maxwell says in the letter. Contacted independently, Maxwell’s friend, Harbir Walia, confirmed the encounter to The Bee.
Rogers also threatened to report Maxwell to the Senate Ethics Committee for a photo Maxwell used on campaign literature, Maxwell says in the letter. Text messages that Maxwell shared support that allegation.
During the Oct. 2 Fresno County Democratic Central Committee meeting, Rogers video recorded on his cellphone Maxwell’s endorsement interview. Michael Evans, the chair of the Fresno Democratic Party, confirmed to The Bee that Rogers was recording. When he asked him to stop, Rogers complied, Evans said.
“We’ve long had a policy that the interviews would not be video taped,” Evans said. “We want the people to be open and forthcoming.”
Maxwell said in the letter to the senator’s office that he hoped to find a way to resolve the issue
“…I know there is a clear distinction between legal and moral wrongdoing,” he wrote. “I believe, however, that despite whether Rogers’ behavior is found to be a case of harassment or merely unethical behavior, it is incumbent upon your office to correct the behavior of one of your highest staffers as it is seen as a reflection of your office.”
Maxwell wrote in the letter that he hoped the issue would be corrected outside of the public view.
Democratic Party local leader starts investigation
Maxwell first informed Gomez, the regional director for the Democratic Party, and Evans, the chair of the local Democratic party, of the alleged harassment.
Gomez set up a conference call with staff from Harris’ office in August to discuss the matter. Maxwell and Gomez had another call with additional staff in October.
“I stressed to them that the whole reason I’m doing this is not to get anybody in trouble or bring shame to the office,” Maxwell said in an interview with The Bee. “I just wanted it (the harassment) to end.”
During the call, Harris’ staff promised Maxwell his complaint would be confidential, Maxwell and Gomez told The Bee. The staffers agreed to drive to Fresno later in October to pick up Maxwell’s written statement.
However, the next day, a number of people told Maxwell that Rogers knew about his arrangement to hand off the statement.
Maxwell said he hand-delivered the statement to Harris’ staffers on Oct. 18 and expressed his disappointment about the lack of confidentiality.
On Oct. 25, according to phone records provided by Maxwelll, Rogers called Maxwell from a blocked number and then sent him a text message saying he’d seen Maxwell’s “doctored documents,” referring to the screen shots of messages Maxwell provided to Harris’ staffers.
On Nov. 6, Rogers posted to Facebook that he decided “to move on from my work for Senator Kamala Harris.” The senator’s office declined to answer questions about when Rogers left his position or the manner in which he departed the job. Officials with the office also declined to discuss how Maxwell’s complaint was handled, other than to say it was taken seriously.
Rogers responds
Rogers declined multiple interview requests from The Bee.
Whelan, Rogers’ attorney, in a texted statement to The Bee, denied the allegations against Rogers. (Maxwell is a current staffer for Fresno City Councilmember Nelson Esparza. Whelan ran against and lost the District 7 City Council seat to Esparza in 2018.)
Whelan said Rogers did not leave Harris’ office because of the harassment claims, but that he left to pursue “another opportunity in service to the community.” Whelan declined to say what the new opportunity is, saying it would be announced at a later date in a news release.
He also indicated Rogers would seek legal action against Maxwell for slander and libel.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHow we reported this story
The reporter first learned about Matt Rogers’ alleged harassment in late October through a tip from a source. The reporter spoke with multiple people off the record regarding various allegations of harassment.
The reporter reached out to Tyler Maxwell in mid-November, and he first shared his experience with the reporter off-the-record during an in-person meeting. During this first meeting, Maxwell gave the reporter a copy of the letter he gave to U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris’ staffers.
About a week later, Maxwell agreed to an on-the-record phone interview and to be an unnamed source in a story. He wished to remain unnamed in any story because he worried the story would negatively affect his city council race and his family and friends.
The reporter began to reach out to others who witnessed Rogers’ alleged behavior. Humberto Gomez Jr., Harbir Walia and Michael Evans confirmed the incidents Maxwell described in his letter to the senator’s office.
Maxwell agreed to be named in the story in mid-December after another website published an interview with Rogers regarding Maxwell’s city council run.
The reporter sent questions in an email to Sen. Harris’ office staff in late December. Staff sent a statement from the office the same day.
The reporter first contacted Matt Rogers for comment on the story and to respond to the allegations the same day the email request was sent to the senator’s office. The reporter reached out to Rogers again after Christmas in an attempt to set up an interview. At this time, Rogers informed the reporter he would have his attorney join the meeting.
The reporter met with Maxwell after Christmas to review the text messages from Rogers and other screenshots of messages referenced in Maxwell’s letter to the senator’s office.
Rogers and the reporter scheduled an interview with Rogers’ attorney present for Monday, Jan. 6. That morning, Rogers’ attorney, Brian Whelan, informed the reporter he and his client could not attend the interview. Whelan texted a statement to the reporter later that morning.
The reporter, two editors and a McClatchy attorney reviewed the story Tuesday, Jan. 7 to ensure it was ready for publication. The reporter contacted Maxwell over the phone to confirm details in the story once more.
This story was originally published January 8, 2020 at 5:00 AM.