Flores’ former district director vehemently denies sexual harassment allegations

Aron Peña (Social Media)

In a Facebook post, the former district director for U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores’ congressional campaign emphatically denied allegations of sexual harassment and instead claimed he resigned his position due to health issues.

The statement from Aron Peña, a longtime Hidalgo County GOP operative, followed reports published by the Current Revolt, a conservative news blog, the Texas Tribune and Texas Public Radio last week that aired allegations of sexual harassment made by two women who worked for Flores and his subsequent resignation.

“So as not to be a distraction in the closing days of an election and due to serious health issues (blood clots in the legs and lungs. I moved on to other employment,” Peña wrote in the social media post.

His statement was actually addressed to the Texas Tribune.

“I emphatically deny the allegations made by disgruntled Democrats in this Texas Tribune hit piece, even after I’ve shown proof of this coordinated attack,” Peña wrote. “This politically motivated hit piece from a blogger is yellow journalism of the worst sort and is transparently an attempt to spread dirt days before the election.”

The Texas Tribune reported he kissed and touched an intern in July without her consent, while Texas Public Radio published a story detailing allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation dating back 20 years. Current Revolt also posted a statement from Cameron County Republican Party Chair Morgan Graham that levels more allegations dating back to 2015.

The Monitor independently obtained a copy of the statement.

Screengrab of Aron Pena’s now-deleted statement on Facebook in response to allegations of sexual harassment, with information identifying the women making the allegations redacted. (Screengrab)

In that statement, Graham said she reported allegations of Peña’s “non-consensual” behavior when he was a member of the Hidalgo County GOP to the Texas Republican Party’s chairman Matt Rinaldi and its political director John Beckmeyer.

“Mr. Beckmeyer immediately started to investigate, and Chairman Rinaldi contacted me to assure me he was supporting and encouraging the investigation,” Graham wrote.

She also said that to her knowledge none of the women were willing to speak with Beckmeyer out of fear of retaliation.

“Threats to reveal compromising photos and messages were made if they came forward, some even moved out of the area to escape their influence,” Graham wrote.

However, after Graham reported the allegations, she wrote that Peña went to work for Flores after she won the special election. Graham said to her knowledge the investigation no longer continued because Peña was no longer an employee of the Republican Party of Texas.

“I am unsure if concerns about Aron’s conduct were conveyed to the Flores campaign,” she wrote.

Rinaldi, the chairman, confirmed the existence of an investigation in a statement.

“The Republican Party of Texas operates a zero tolerance policy for any form of sexual harassment in the workplace, treats all incidents seriously, and promptly investigates all allegations of sexual harassment,” Rinaldi said. “Any person found to have sexually harassed another will face disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal from employment.

“All complaints are taken seriously and treated with respect and in confidence. That process was followed in this instance.”

The Texas Republican Party, however, did not answer a question about the results of the investigation.

Peña, who publicly identified the women he’s accused of sexually harassing in the post, described the allegations as revenge from a rival group of Republicans that recently lost several campaigns in the primary.

“Attacks have been made against anyone who disagrees with their efforts,” Peña wrote, naming Graham and Janie Melendez, another Republican.

He claims they are working to “malign, slander and attack myself, my family and other Republicans.”

Peña’s sister is Adrienne Peña-Garza, chair of the Hidalgo County GOP, and his father is Aaron Pena, who is running for a spot on the 13th Court of Appeals.

Attempts to reach Peña were not successful.

For her part, Graham said she reported the allegations after being approached by some women in Hidalgo County who had a multitude of concerns about alleged sexual misconduct. She said at that point, there hadn’t been any mention of non-consensual activity, but enough that Graham felt there was an abuse of position.

She also dismissed Peña’s claim that the allegations stem from division in the Rio Grande Valley’s Republican Party.

“This transcended elections,” Graham said. “This is about what is right and wrong.”

Editor’s note: This story was updated to clarify the accessibility to Peña’s Facebook post.