Colorado lawmaker faces sexual harassment accusations that surfaced during GOP leadership race

Two women have accused a Loveland state lawmaker of making graphic sexual comments about them at society events according to statements the women sent to the House Republican caucus In the joint letter the two women alleged that Rep Ron Weinberg made unwanted and explicit sexual advances to them at populace events in and before he was in the legislature Both exchanges happened in front of spectators including a husband of one of the women according to the letter Each of us has experienced sexual harassment from Representative Weinberg Heather Booth and Jacqueline Anderson wrote He has engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior made unwelcome sexual comments and pursued unwanted sexual advances Weinberg had of late released that he would run for the third-ranking minority leadership position in the House But he dropped out Friday in a post on the social platform X writing that he would not pursue the minority whip position He did not mention the letter but cited a desire to spend more time with his wife and family On Monday House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese acknowledged the letter on social media writing that legislative leaders would take these accusations seriously Neither Weinberg nor his attorney returned messages seeking comment Monday afternoon Weinberg denied the claims in a report to the Colorado Sun Both of the women who wrote the letter have been involved in Republican politics At the time of the incidents alleged Anderson was the vice chair of the Mesa County Republican Party while Booth was on the Elizabeth school board Anderson informed The Denver Post in an interview that she and Booth were harassed by Weinberg at an annual Leadership Scheme of the Rockies event in February Weinberg allegedly also made a lewd comment to Anderson and her husband about wanting to have sex with Anderson at the same event the year prior in June Anderson and Booth s letter was sent to the House Republican caucus and posted to social media last week after Weinberg broadcasted that he intended to run for the leadership position within the caucus At the time of the alleged harassment Weinberg was the chair of the Larimer County Republican Party and a member of the Larimer County Planning Commission He would be appointed to the legislature through a vacancy committee several months later in fall and take office in early He was elected to a new term last November In the letter Anderson wrote that Weinberg approached her at a Leadership Scheme of the Rockies event at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs in June at a table where she sat with her husband Cory Weinberg allegedly narrated Cory Anderson that Weinberg was going to have sex with his wife using an expletive It was just shocking Jacqueline Anderson announced in an interview She remembered wondering whether she d heard Weinberg correctly And my husband s like Excuse me And Weinberg mentioned it again And I mentioned Yeah I don t think so Anderson disclosed she and her husband saw Weinberg the next day and confronted him Weinberg she announced explained he didn t remember saying anything and noted he d had too much to drink the night before He apologized she announced But Anderson explained he made the same comment nearly a year later in February She announced her husband who was again present had to be restrained Booth did not return a message seeking comment about her charges regarding Weinberg In the letter she wrote that Weinberg approached her and a friend at the February event as the pair jokingly discussed getting a facelift Weinberg allegedly narrated Booth that she didn t need a facelift and that she was beautiful He then allegedly made a lewd comment involving his penis and a sex act It was humiliating disgusting and terrifying Booth wrote We were dressed up at a populace event and this man thought it was okay to sexually degrade me like that I still can t shake how powerless and violated I felt Anderson commented she didn t know about Booth s account from the February event until in recent months But she mentioned she met with bureaucrats from the Leadership Project of the Rockies after she commented she heard about an account from a third woman that also involved Weinberg She mentioned the group s leaders banned Weinberg from attending future events Messages sent to the group by The Post were not returned Monday Related Articles These new Colorado laws take effect Tuesday regulating gun shops sexual assault cases youth detention and more Republican state legislator from Berthoud resigning for new job in Arizona RTD board gives tentative yes to pursuing Front Range rider rail between Denver Fort Collins Colorado attempts crackdown on contends sharks for veterans benefits amid national debate over industry Charity event organizers send to CBI to urge faster action on rape kit backlog In Pugliese s social media post Monday the House s top Republican wrote We take these charges seriously We are cooperating with the proper administration to ensure all accusations are properly handled and have forwarded the information to Workplace Relations for review The Office of Legislative Workplace Relations is the legislature s version of a human tools department But it s unclear what oversight the office will have over the alleged misconduct as it occurred before Weinberg joined the legislature When he withdrew from the whip race Friday Weinberg cited only personal reasons writing on X Titles and positions mean little if they cost you your peace your family and your purpose My duty remains to serve my district and stand for our conservative principles but I will not sacrifice the time and presence my loved ones deserve Anderson announced she decided to publicly disclose her assertions when she learned that Weinberg was pursuing a leadership role The whip position had opened with the resignation of Berthoud Rep Ryan Armagost The race for minority whip became heated on social media in latest days but Anderson commented her decision to speak out wasn t politically motivated My stance is I don t really care who s whip it just can t be Ron she commented His behavior continues to be a trouble and he s not being held accountable That s just kind of where I m at Enough s enough Weinberg was not present at the House Republican caucus meeting Monday morning where the caucus elected freshman Rep Carlos Barron to become the new whip Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter The Spot