SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon state Sen. Sarah Gelser, who filed a complaint against a male colleague for sexual harassment, is one of the women and men featured in Time magazine’s person of the year: The silence breakers.
Gelser said on Twitter Wednesday it’s an honor to be included. She urged women and men in every profession to speak out if they’re victims, saying there’s no shame in coming forward.
Gelser, a Democrat from Corvallis, has asked for Sen. Jeff Kruse, a Republican from Roseburg, to be expelled from the Senate. She says he touched her breasts, put his hand on her thigh during a committee hearing, slipped his fingers under the hem of her skirt, and whispered so closely it left her ear and cheek wet.
Kruse has denied inappropriate behavior.