'Please stop': Indiana Democrats ignored evidence of sexual harassment by senator
Indiana Democrats have spent years gawking at examples of alleged sexual harassment by a sitting state senator, gossiping with one another in private without disclosing documentation to the public.
Democrats maintained a breathtaking lack of curiosity when the accuser's father said he watched Sen. David Niezgodski enter his daughter's house — uninvited — in June 2017. The father has been trying for years to convince someone, anyone, to take seriously what happened to his daughter.
It's not just his word. He brought receipts. Text messages. Voicemails. There's also a financial settlement, which has not previously been reported on.
"I love you. I love you in all the right ways," a man sounding like Niezgodski says in a three-minute voicemail to a former employee, who submitted the message as part of an Indiana Civil Rights Commission case and shared it with her father, who later sent it to Democratic Party officials.
Niezgodski, D-South Bend, allegedly sent dozens of texts to the woman as she tried to sever ties with his private business in 2017. She later said in a complaint that she quit her job to get away from the senator, citing unwelcome comments about her appearance and attempts to redirect the nature of their relationship.
Niezgodski describes the situation as a "private personnel matter." He declined an interview request through a spokeswoman and did not answer written questions. He issued a statement that did not address the questions.
"The fact that reporting of this may occur during a contested primary race raises questions about the true motives of those behind this story," he said, in part. "I would only ask that the reporting be factual, and not based on false innuendos, or misleading statements. Elections should be about fighting for what is important today and not about undermining peace."
'Is it political? No.'
Niezgodski is running for a third term in the Senate. He faces a challenge from St. Joseph County Treasurer Tim Swager in the May 7 primary.
Michael Weaver told me he doesn't care about that. He's been talking about Niezgodski since long before election time.
"Is it political? No, that doesn't have anything to do with this," Weaver, the father of Niezgodski's accuser, told me.
IndyStar typically does not name people who say they are victims of sexual harassment. I'm naming Weaver because he has a different last name than his daughter and has been speaking on the record about the case for years. I heard about it for the first time in January, which is why I'm writing about it now.
Weaver told me his daughter described to him a pattern of behavior — Niezgodski's unwanted advances, pressure to spend time with him — that led her to quit her job as an office assistant at Niezgodski Plumbing of South Bend in June 2017. Two days after she quit, Weaver said, he was next door when he witnessed Niezgodski arriving at his daughter's home and entering when she wasn't inside.
"I grabbed my weapon. I was heading to the house. He had no right to come to her house and enter her property without any permission," Weaver told me. "He came outside. I did confront him. I met him in front of her house and asked him what he was doing in the house."
Weaver said he considered calling the police, but didn't. Niezgodski left without incident, Weaver said.
Around that time, Weaver said, his daughter was rattled and began sharing Niezgodski's communications with him — messages that would eventually spread across Democratic Party email lists.
$8,000 sexual harassment settlement
Niezgodski's former employee accused the senator of sexual harassment in September 2017 — less than three months after she quit her job — in a complaint filed with the Indiana Civil Rights Commission.
"Mr. Niezgodski showed up to my home to give my son an Easter basket and made inappropriate comments about how I looked in my jeans," the woman said in the filing. "He also left voicemails on my phone stating that he thinks about me every minute and he 'loves me.'
"Due to how uncomfortable the situation became working for Mr. Niezgodski, I decided it was necessary to put in my 2 weeks notice. After I put in my notice he continuously and persistently texted my phone and showed up to my home uninvited."
Niezgodski's company settled with the former employee for $8,000, according to the case file, which I obtained from a source who received it through a public records request. The document includes a confidentiality and nondisparagement agreement between Niezgodski and his accuser. The state notified me that it has processed my own request for the document, but has not yet delivered it.
Niezgodski's former employee told me during a brief phone conversation that she could not comment on the case. She did not dispute the authenticity of the Indiana Civil Rights Commission case file or the text messages and voicemails linked to Niezgodski through the case and attached to emails from her father.
Niezgodski did not answer questions about the file, texts or voicemails.
"This private personnel matter was addressed mutually and confidentially by both parties. I have no intention of violating this and I'm going to honor, respect and abide by that," he said.
'HELLO! Take that.'
The Indiana Civil Rights Commission case and the text messages cited within it tell the story of a married, 56-year-old state senator relentlessly pursuing a 33-year-old single mother, who keeps either ignoring or deflecting his appeals to talk or meet up. The woman had volunteered on Niezgodski's political campaigns and worked for his plumbing business.
After the woman informed Niezgodski of her intent to quit her job as an office assistant at Niezgodski Plumbing on June 28, 2017, the senator oscillated between offering career feedback and imploring her to keep working for him, text messages show. He strikes a possessive tone in the messages.
"I don't know what else to say but I just want to talk to you. I wanted you to be more closer to me on a daily basis for a long time," Niezgodski writes June 29. Later that day, he adds: "If it is Indy that ultimately is what you want, the State Senator has a decent shot at finding you something also, just saying:]"
"David, I've been up all night, sick to my stomach," the woman writes the next day. "I am just trying to put a lot of thought into this and I know and appreciate everything you have done for me but right now I'm very overwhelmed."
Niezgodski repeatedly asks to talk, saying, "Please take my call. I promise it will be no pressure for asking anything of you."
She responds July 1, saying, "I do not handle these types of things well. I just need time to think. I have no hard feelings and we will have a talk sometime soon."
Niezgodski sends more messages asking for a phone call, writing on July 2, "I am just a man that truly is your friend. Please consider not going away."
"Any chance I can just say hello?" Niezgodski texts on July 3. After about two hours with no reply, he follows up with, "Actually yes I can. HELLO! Take that. Hope you have a good holiday and that you will answer me back at a time of your choosing."
The woman replies July 4, telling Niezgodski, "Stop please I can't deal with someone else's bs right now … I'm dealing with my own (stuff) right now so please stop … I can not take on any more … (your wife) is your best employee, she knows what she is doing and you would be losing out on someone who cares about you more than you know."
A father's pleas for action
Although Niezgodski's former employee agreed not to discuss the case as part of her settlement, Weaver, her father, told me he never signed anything and still wants justice for his daughter in the form of discipline against Niezgodski.
That's why, Weaver said, he started contacting county and state Democratic Party officials, sending them texts and voicemail messages his daughter had previously shared with him.
"This man should not be (in) elected office," Weaver wrote in a November 2019 email to Democratic Party officials. "There is no excuse for what he put my daughter and family through."
Weaver's emails ricocheted around the Democratic Party — but, apparently, never reached the hands of anyone who might investigate Niezgodski's alleged behavior.
"I did receive an email from her father, as did many other people in the community," Stan Wruble, the St. Joseph Democratic Party chair at the time, told me in a message. Wruble didn't respond to a message seeking a follow-up conversation about the sexual harassment allegation.
Diana Hess, the current county party chair, says she has a vague recollection of hearing the story at the time, but wasn't involved in the party at a high level.
"I have no direct information on that particular issue," she told me. "If there were serious allegations of sexual harassment, I think that's a concern. I think that's something we would want to have a discussion about as a party."
Democrats have criticized Republicans who 'remained silent'
Of all the Democrats who received evidence of Niezgodski's alleged harassment, few, if any, have shared Hess' interest in taking a closer look. The Indiana Democratic Party in a statement dismissed the claims as resolved and Weaver's emails as hearsay.
"The party was notified about this matter two years after it had been closed," state party spokesman Sam Barloga wrote in response to a list of questions. "The contact was by someone not directly involved in the matter. The party does not comment on concluded legal matters under these circumstances."
Democrats, though, have seen fit to comment on allegations outside their tent based on less first-hand evidence.
When IndyStar's Kaitlin Lange reported in October 2022 that Republican Party leadership had been aware of sexual assault allegations against Diego Morales before they went public, Democrats issued a statement on what they referred to as a "bombshell report" about the then-candidate for secretary of state.
Party Chair Mike Schmuhl and Vice Chair Myla Eldridge excoriated Republicans in a joint statement, saying party leaders "knew about the sexual assault allegations" and "remained silent." Republicans, they said, "chose to put political power ahead of the safety and well-being of Hoosier women."
"This failure of leadership is appalling," they said, adding "Republican leaders would rather treat women like second-class citizens than hold (Morales) accountable."
Strong words.
Less than two years after Democrats argued Morales' presence on the ballot was an affront to Indiana women, though, Niezgodski is cruising toward reelection in his primary on a message that he "will always have women's backs," per one campaign mailer.
"With the support of my wife, family and loyal constituents, I will keep fighting for Hoosier women, better healthcare including maternal and infant care and defined benefit pensions for public employees, teachers and public safety officers, day in and day out," he said in his statement to me.
Niezgodski has every reason to feel confident. He's a long-term incumbent running in a safe district for Democrats — and with the apparent support of party leaders.
Democrats have long possessed evidence of Niezgodski's alleged bad behavior. They've rationalized it, whispered about it and come up with excuses to avoid addressing it, even as they've called for Republicans to hold themselves to a higher level of accountability.
It's easy to take a moralistic stand for women so long as you can avoid looking in the mirror.
Contact James Briggs at 317-444-4732 or james.briggs@indystar.com. Follow him on X and Threads at @JamesEBriggs.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: David Niezgodski, accused of sexual harassment, runs on helping women
