New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. Kevin B. Sanders for Observer
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. Kevin B. Sanders for Observer
“You weren’t aware that they (Brendan Gill and Albert J. Alvarez) were college roommates as well?” asked Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi (R-Bergen).
When Schepisi, a member of the Legislative Select Oversight Committee looking into the sexual harassment charges made by Katie Brennan asked a witness this question, it set off a firestorm of controversy and now threatens the credibility of the Committee itself.
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In a forceful denial, Brendan Gill responded to Schepisi by calling her a liar. “Holly is a straight up liar, clearly fed information by enemies of the Governor,” Gill tweeted. While Gill has said he believes Alvarez attended Seton Hall University at the same time he did, they did not know one another. Gill posted on Twitter: “my roommate was my 11 year old brother who I shared a bunk bed with while I was in college.”
Perhaps more than anything else that has been said during these hearings so far, Schepisi’s factually inaccurate remarks have given critics of the Committee tangible evidence that it’s work might be more about politics than about social justice, women’s rights or public hiring practices. This is yet another insult and offense to Katie Brennan. So far, no legislator has condemned Schepisi for her recklessness.
Some legislators have used the hearing to raise the consciousness of sexual harassment in the workplace. Some seem truly interested in the state’s hiring practices and began the hearing with a hope to improve those practices so that others would not suffer…
