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NYC Mayor: Scott Stinger's Accuser Addresses Allegations That Upended The NYC Mayor's Race
Vanity FairJean Kim, the former campaign volunteer who recently accused New York City mayoral candidate Scott Stringer of sexual misconduct, is now addressing the allegations that have upended the top-tier Democrat’s path to City Hall—and brought scrutiny on herself amid the fallout. “He constantly reminded me of his power by saying things like, ‘You want me to make a phone call for you to change your life,’ ‘You want me to make you the first Asian district leader,’” Kim told the New York Times in recounting unwanted advances and the perceived power dynamic underlying such interactions two decades ago. “There was no doubt in my mind that he was powerful and he could make or break me.”
The Democratic candidate has not only denied making unwanted sexual advances—including forcible kissing and groping—but insists he and Kim were in an “on-and-off,” consensual relationship spanning four or five months, a conflicting narrative at the center of the whole debacle. While both Kim and Stringer agree on the origins of their relationship—they both recall overlapping at political events and then more closely as Kim supported Stringer’s 2001 bid for public advocate, an unsuccessful campaign on which she worked in an unpaid capacity—the two diverge on the nature of what came next. Kim characterizes their relationship as Stringer abusing his mentor status to make unwanted sexual advances and Stringer dismisses those allegations as “a fundamental distortion” of what happened,” he said in the statement to the Times.
Stringer also contested the power dynamic laid out by Kim, stating that “virtually every one of my friends volunteered on the campaign” and “there was no sense in which they were subordinates.” Yet Kim described the city comptroller as “an older man that I looked up to as a trusted mentor” and someone she felt was “taking me under his wing” as “somebody who doesn’t know anybody,” telling the paper she was at once “horrified” of Stringer and fearful of what alienating him could do to her career.
There have been questions about the former campaign worker’s credibility amid apparent discrepancies in her account, most notably those addressed by The Intercept last week relating to Community Free Democrats, the Upper West Side political club in which both Stringer and Kim were active. Kim has said she left the club after the experience with Stringer, a claim debunked by reported club records showing she was a dues-paying member at least through 2006, as well as her own 2013 résumé listing herself as a member. Still, the scandal has crippled Stringer’s campaign, as a number of notable progressive backers have withdrawn their support.
Sunday’s Times piece came on heels of details Kim offered to Gothamist in an interview last week, in which her fiancé, Tony Caifano, said she confided in him about the alleged sexual misconduct back in 2014. That detail makes him “so far the only person who has attested to Kim previously talking about the alleged incidents,” Gothamist notes, and seems to challenge one of the central issues that Stringer allies and outlets, including The Intercept, have raised with her account: lack of corroborating evidence. Caifano also confirmed the account to the Times, with Kim telling the paper that her fiancé was the first person with whom she had shared her experience. Susan Kim, her sister, also told the Times that she remembered Jean becoming “withdrawn and stressed” at some point in 2001, and recalled how she had previously been “very enthusiastic” about Stringer’s bid. Susan Kim also said Jean expressed a desire to distance herself from Stringer and their shared political club in 2002 but, acknowledging the discrepancies that have emerged, “occasionally went to certain events after that.” Still, Susan Kim told the Times, Jean “did not share any specific details until fairly recently,” noting that “we’re from an Asian family” and “it’s kind of like a taboo topic for us.”
The Democratic candidate has not only denied making unwanted sexual advances—including forcible kissing and groping—but insists he and Kim were in an “on-and-off,” consensual relationship spanning four or five months, a conflicting narrative at the center of the whole debacle. While both Kim and Stringer agree on the origins of their relationship—they both recall overlapping at political events and then more closely as Kim supported Stringer’s 2001 bid for public advocate, an unsuccessful campaign on which she worked in an unpaid capacity—the two diverge on the nature of what came next. Kim characterizes their relationship as Stringer abusing his mentor status to make unwanted sexual advances and Stringer dismisses those allegations as “a fundamental distortion” of what happened,” he said in the statement to the Times.
Stringer also contested the power dynamic laid out by Kim, stating that “virtually every one of my friends volunteered on the campaign” and “there was no sense in which they were subordinates.” Yet Kim described the city comptroller as “an older man that I looked up to as a trusted mentor” and someone she felt was “taking me under his wing” as “somebody who doesn’t know anybody,” telling the paper she was at once “horrified” of Stringer and fearful of what alienating him could do to her career.
There have been questions about the former campaign worker’s credibility amid apparent discrepancies in her account, most notably those addressed by The Intercept last week relating to Community Free Democrats, the Upper West Side political club in which both Stringer and Kim were active. Kim has said she left the club after the experience with Stringer, a claim debunked by reported club records showing she was a dues-paying member at least through 2006, as well as her own 2013 résumé listing herself as a member. Still, the scandal has crippled Stringer’s campaign, as a number of notable progressive backers have withdrawn their support.
Sunday’s Times piece came on heels of details Kim offered to Gothamist in an interview last week, in which her fiancé, Tony Caifano, said she confided in him about the alleged sexual misconduct back in 2014. That detail makes him “so far the only person who has attested to Kim previously talking about the alleged incidents,” Gothamist notes, and seems to challenge one of the central issues that Stringer allies and outlets, including The Intercept, have raised with her account: lack of corroborating evidence. Caifano also confirmed the account to the Times, with Kim telling the paper that her fiancé was the first person with whom she had shared her experience. Susan Kim, her sister, also told the Times that she remembered Jean becoming “withdrawn and stressed” at some point in 2001, and recalled how she had previously been “very enthusiastic” about Stringer’s bid. Susan Kim also said Jean expressed a desire to distance herself from Stringer and their shared political club in 2002 but, acknowledging the discrepancies that have emerged, “occasionally went to certain events after that.” Still, Susan Kim told the Times, Jean “did not share any specific details until fairly recently,” noting that “we’re from an Asian family” and “it’s kind of like a taboo topic for us.”
