Kevin Beiser returned to his seat on the San Diego Unified School District’s board Tuesday night, more than a month after he was accused of sexual misconduct by four men.
Beiser did not acknowledge the accusations during his first meeting since the accusations became public and spoke only once, to praise schools from his subdistrict that won a districtwide recycling competition.
During public comment at the end of the meeting, Beiser departed early and evaded questions from members of the media waiting to interview him.
Beiser issued a statement declaring his innocence and promising a vigorous defense against accusations he said were politically motivated when the accusations initially became public but otherwise has not spoken or appeared publicly before Tuesday’s meeting.
The rest of the board, with Beiser absent, passed a resolution calling for his resignation at its last board meeting. Only Trustee John Lee Evans, who introduced that resolution, acknowledged the issue Tuesday night.
“As you can tell, five board members are present this meeting,” Evans said, sitting next to Beiser. “You may recall the Board of Education passed a resolution two weeks ago calling for the immediate resignation of Kevin Beiser. That resolution still stands, don’t want anybody to be confused about that. We have had no communication with Mr. Beiser since that time, and Mr. Beiser has arrived on his own for this meeting.”
Since the accusations became public, both the local Democratic and Republican parties called for Beiser to resign, as did the San Diego Education Association, the district’s teachers union. A group of high-profile LGBTQ elected officials issued a joint-statement urging him to resign.
Tuesday’s board meeting was not the first indication Beiser had no intention of heeding those calls.
On Monday night, Patrick Ambrosio attended the Linda Vista Planning Group’s meeting as a representative of Beiser’s City Council campaign.
“I do know that he will be making a statement himself,” said Ambrosio, who is also Beiser’s roommate. “I do not have a date on that, I do know he will be making one. That’s one of the things to look forward to, hearing that.”
Ambrosio said he had nothing else to add to Beiser’s original statement denying the men’s allegations.
Asked if Beiser intended to resign or cancel his Council campaign, Ambrosio said “as of right now there is like I said not another time that I can – I don’t have the exact date that he’ll be making his formal announcements, but he will be making an announcement soon.”