A spokeswoman for the Colorado treasurer’s office has resigned from her job, weeks after her sexual assault allegations against a state lawmaker were found not credible by a judge.
The office of Treasurer Dave Young, a Democrat, confirmed that Sheena Kadi resigned from her position, effective Tuesday. Kadi had been placed on paid administrative leave on March 21 for a personnel matter, Deputy State Treasurer Eric Rothaus said. He declined to provide details about what led to the leave or whether a review had concluded.
Kadi and the treasurer’s office did not publicly announce her departure, which was first reported by Colorado Politics.
Kadi has been active in state Democratic politics for years and holds the position of vice chair for public relations and marketing for the Colorado Democratic Party. But party officials recently stripped her of her duties, pending removal from her officer post.
On March 18, The Denver Post and Colorado Public Radio reported that Denver County Court Judge Clarisse Gonzales, in a February hearing, denied Kadi’s request for a protection order against Democratic Rep. Leslie Herod of Denver. Kadi had publicly accused Herod of sexually assaulting her in social media posts last year.
But the judge found that Kadi’s testimony was “incredible on 100 percent of the facts that were asserted,” casting doubt on several allegations. Gonzales instead granted a yearlong protective order to Herod against Kadi, requiring her to stop posting about Herod on social media and to have no contact with Herod, including by maintaining a physical distance between them.
Kadi declined to comment about her resignation to The Post. She told CPR in a text message that she “did not make any false claims.” In a written statement Kadi provided to The Post a week after the Denver Court ruling became public, she alleged that the court believed lies from several witnesses and that a fear of public retaliation forces “victims of sexual assault to suffer in silence.”
But Herod, who has denied all claims made against her, told The Post in March that the allegations against her were “extremely painful” and shocking, particularly because she has always fought for victims of sexual assault and harassment.
Colorado Democratic Party Chairman Shad Murib had called for Kadi’s resignation from her state party position after the February ruling became public. When Kadi didn’t do so, state party officials filed a complaint calling for her removal. A state party “controversy committee” was formed to deliberate. It delivered recommendations in April to Murib, which he said he accepted immediately and implemented. They will remain in effect through April 30, 2027, he said.
Those recommendations include barring Kadi from state party activities statewide and those of its affiliates, suspending her access to the voter registration file, preventing her from speaking on behalf of the state party, banning her from holding any internal elected state party positions in Colorado, and not allowing her access to resources, internal communications or party credentials.
“I am working hard to build a culture and a Democratic Party of safety and making sure everyone has the capacity to do this work in the way that they feel comfortable,” Murib said. “And so when a controversy committee recommends these incredibly serious recommendations, that can only be the result of incredibly serious problems. And so we took that seriously.”
Later this month, the State Central Committee, which governs the party, is set to vote on whether to fully remove Kadi from holding the vice chair title.
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