Gavin Newsom appointee waged a campaign of sexual harassment, new lawsuit alleges

A Newsom administration appointee waged an extensive sexual harassment campaign, resulting in aid to disaster-stricken Californians being delayed, a new lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit, filed by former California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) senior emergency services coordinator Kendra Bowyer, alleges that Deputy Director Ryan Buras, a Democrat appointed to his position in 2019, spent a year subjecting her to abuse.

“This administration swept a predator’s campaign of sexual and psychological abuse under the rug,” Bowyer said in a statement. “A workplace that centers around supporting disaster survivors became a terrifying and nightmarish disaster zone in of itself because they enabled his disgusting behavior.”

According to a statement from Newsom’s office at the time of Buras’ appointment, Buras made $150,672 a year.

Cal OES Deputy Director for Crisis Communication and Public Affairs Brian Ferguson responded on behalf of both his office and that of the governor.

Ferguson said that his office does not comment on personnel matters and active litigation, but that as of noon on Tuesday they had not been formally served with the lawsuit.

“Sexual harassment in the workplace is an affront to our values as an organization. It has no place in Cal OES and it will not be tolerated in any form. Nothing is more important than the safety and welfare of staff and the communities they serve. Put more plainly, every single Cal OES employee and contractor must have a safe and respectful work environment,” Ferguson said.

He added that for many years, Cal OES has had detailed harassment and misconduct prevention and response programs, policies and practices.

“The department also mandates annual sexual harassment prevention training for all employees,” Ferguson said.

The Bee reached out to Buras by email, but received no response by deadline.

The lawsuit, filed in Sacramento Superior Court, names Cal OES and Buras as defendants.

In addition to suing for unspecified damages, Bowyer’s complaint also demands that Cal OES be required to provide in-person sexual harassment training, to conduct a full investigation of Buras’ alleged conduct toward female employees and for all employees who failed to take action to be removed from their position.

According to the complaint, a Cal OES manager named Steven Larson first reported Buras for sexual harassment after receiving multiple reports from Cal OES employees.

Rather than investigate Buras, Larson was terminated from Cal OES, the complaint alleges. Larson is involved in a separate lawsuit with Cal OES alleging Buras’ harassment.

“Mr. Larson forwarded their complaint describing how Mr. Buras made it difficult for women in the office, yet despite this information Cal OES did nothing and failed to protect Mr. Larson and their female employees,” Larson’s complaint alleges.

Bowyer alleges in her complaint that Buras, who was married at the time to then-California Secretary of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency Natalie Palugyai, made repeated sexual comments, at one point telling Bowyer that emergency deployments were “where marriages go to die.”

Bowyer said in the complaint that she felt compelled to continue talking with Buras because he once told her that staff who refused to do so were placed on his “Dead to Me List.”

At one point, Buras allegedly invited Bowyer and a male co-worker for dinner at his house, and later offered for them to stay the night. Bowyer said in the complaint that she reluctantly slept in Buras’ bed while he slept downstairs, but that she woke up to Buras in bed with her.

After Bowyer declined Buras’ alleged offer to go on a Christmas trip together, Buras allegedly changed his behavior toward her, immediately beginning a campaign of retaliation.

Buras allegedly stopped attending executive meetings, resulting in disaster aid being delayed.

“For example, to get a tree removed, FEMA needed to approve it. (Bowyer) would communicate to (Buras) that the approval was not getting through, and without the weekly meetings (Bowyer) could not press the issue. She sent emails but did not get responses from (Buras). (Buras) played an integral part in communicating and interacting with FEMA to get approval. Without his involvement it meant that counties could not get approval to remove trees that were falling on houses, roads, and school playgrounds,” according to the complaint.

FEMA is the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which provides federal disaster aid and assistance.

Bowyer alleged in her complaint that Buras’ retaliation against her made it impossible to do her job, and ultimately drove her to resign.

The abuse became so severe that a doctor declared Bowyer “totally disabled,” according to the complaint.

“CAL OES knew Ms. Bowyer was totally disabled because of Buras’ sexual harassment yet did nothing other than to have its attorney call Ms. Bowyer and ask her why she allowed the sexual harassment,” according to the complaint.