Rep. Josh Zepnick

A woman told The Capital Times that she was working at the state Democratic Party's 2015 convention in Milwaukee when Zepnick became drunk and kissed her. Another woman the newspaper described as a former legislative staffer said a drunken Zepnick kissed her during a 2011 party for a Senate recall candidate.

A Democratic state representative accused of kissing two women against their will is refusing to resign, despite requests from Democratic leaders for him to do so.

State party leaders already have stripped Rep. Josh Zepnick, D-Milwaukee, of his legislative committee assignments, a move that he says further marginalizes him in the Republican-controlled Legislature. Zepnick said the move “disappointed and disturbed” him.

Zepnick issued a statement saying that he has a right to defend himself from allegations made by two women who told the Capital Times newspaper he had forced himself on them in 2011 and 2015.

A woman told The Cap Times that she was working at the state Democratic Party's 2015 convention in Milwaukee when Zepnick became drunk and kissed her. Another woman the newspaper described as a former legislative staffer said a drunken Zepnick kissed her during a 2011 party for a Senate recall candidate.

Both women requested anonymity, saying they were concerned about their jobs. Neither filed complaints at the time of the incidents but said they decided to tell their stories now in light of multiple women accusing men in politics, entertainment and the media of sexual misconduct.

The convention worker's co-workers told the newspaper the woman described the incident to them that same night. The newspaper did not name any of those workers. The former legislative staffer told the newspaper she believes others witnessed Zepnick kissing her but isn't sure who specifically would have seen it.

“As Democrats we lead with our values. Sexual harassment will not be tolerated under any circumstance in our party,” party chair Martha Laning said in a statement. “In light of these serious and corroborated charges against Rep. Zepnick, and high standards to which we hold our public officials, we ask that Rep. Zepnick immediately step down."

Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, tweeted a statement attributed to Assembly Democratic leaders, saying they took the allegations seriously.

Zepnick said in an email to the Cap Times that no one had ever confronted him with such allegations. He didn't deny the allegations in the email, and didn't respond to follow-up messages from both The Capital Times and The Associated Press asking him to clarify whether he denied them.

Zepnick was first elected to the Assembly in 2002. He was arrested for first-offense drunken driving in October 2015. He pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay a forfeiture, had his license suspended for six months and ordered to use an ignition interlock device for a year.

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