Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.

UPDATE: This story was updated at 4:28 p.m. on June 22, 2024.

A group of former staff members of New York State Senator John Mannion published an anonymous joint letter bringing forward several harassment allegations against him. The letter was posted to the article-sharing website Medium on Monday.

Three of the letter’s authors, who signed the letter as “Concerned Former Staff,” confirmed their identities to The Daily Orange. The D.O. was able to verify their previous employment as part of Mannion’s staff. They wished to remain unnamed in this article for fear of retaliation. Two of the staffers said they worked with the senator on his campaign team and within the state senate, respectively.

“We are writing to share our experiences of a hostile work environment — including mistreatment, harassment, and retaliation — during our time working for the Senator,” the letter reads.

The letter alleges the senator cultivated a “hostile work environment,” claiming he made sexist comments toward young female staff members and retaliated against those who reported instances of harassment. The letter also states the senator frequently defended his wife, Jennifer Mannion, when she allegedly engaged in similar behavior.

In a written statement sent to The D.O. Wednesday afternoon, Mannion denied these claims.

“Let me be clear; as a teacher, a union president, and a NYS Senator, I have been in the public eye for a long time and never in my life or career have I been associated with anything like this,” Mannion wrote. “This is not in my character and it is not how I conduct business.”

Mannion also wrote that throughout his time within the state senate, neither he nor other relevant state senate administrators — including his chief of staff, the New York State secretary of the senate and the New York State attorney general — have received complaints from his staff.

In a Tuesday statement posted to X, the Sexual Harassment Working Group supported the authors’ claims. The group is now calling on the state senate’s ethics committee to launch an investigation into the allegations and reinforce regulations to prevent mistreatment.

“The allegations against Senator Mannion are grave and must not be ignored,” SHWG’s statement reads. “The Senate Ethics Committee must initiate an immediate investigation that safeguards the staffers’ identities while acknowledging the trauma they have endured.”

SHWG, a group of eight individuals who say they witnessed and experienced sexual harassment while working within the New York State Legislature, run the #HarassmentFreeAlbany campaign — an initiative that aims to protect staff members from abuse. In the past, the group has promoted legislation combating harassment and spoken out against alleged mistreatment in government offices.

In the letter, the authors allege Mannion yelled at his female staffers regularly, including saying phrases such as “I am the Senator” and “I am the King,” using obscenities and intimidating his staff. In one instance, the staffers wrote, he allegedly “verbally berated” a young woman staffer for almost an hour.

The letter also includes several allegations of sexist and homophobic comments made by Jennifer Mannion toward the staff, as well as harassment and sending intimidating messages. The anonymous former staffers detailed two occasions when Jennifer Mannion allegedly made anti-LGBTQ+ comments.

“Mrs. Mannion would often be involved in work situations in ways that made us uncomfortable, but the Senator made it clear that we were not to push back, even when she crossed the line into harassment,” the letter reads. “In all cases, the Senator was aware of and defended her behavior.”

The anonymous former staffers called the senator’s behavior “hypocritical,” citing his previous efforts to support workers’ rights. The group said in the letter that it hopes to prevent him from reaching higher office, as Mannion is vying to run in the 2024 general election for a seat in the United States House of Representatives.

Mannion said he believes the letter’s release was politically motivated because of its proximity to next week’s New York state primary elections. Early voting for these primaries has already commenced.

“The timing of this – days from an election – tells you everything you need to know. This is a false political attack and it is the type of dirty politics that I reject. I believe Central New Yorkers and people in the Mohawk Valley will reject it too,” Mannion wrote.

A state senator since 2020, Mannion is running against DeWitt Town Councilor Sarah Klee Hood to be the Democratic Party nominee for New York’s 22nd Congressional District. Prior to the release of these allegations, he received endorsements from former New York Governor David Paterson and U.S. Representative Joe Morelle, among other local politicians.

Klee Hood responded to the allegations against Mannion in a public statement sent to The D.O. Saturday, calling the former staffers’ claims “incredibly concerning.” She also said her campaign was not involved with the release of Monday’s letter.

“I have refrained from commenting in an effort to not allow the politics of this race to distract from the seriousness of the situation,” Klee Hood said in the statement. “I stand with all who have survived abuse, disrespect, and harassment, and I believe that the State Senate has an obligation to complete its investigation.”

The state senate is now investigating the Mannion staffers’ allegations, CNY Central reported Friday.

Early voting for the New York primaries runs through June 23, and primary election day will occur on June 25. The winner of the state’s Democratic primaries will face incumbent Rep. Brandon Williams, a Republican, during November’s U.S. general elections.

Published on June 19, 2024 at 10:07 pm

Contact Julia: jmboehni@syr.edu