An influential figure in New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration is claiming that current New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy is unfit to be a senator after failing to respond to claims of sexual assault by another woman.
Katie Brennan, executive director of Storm Recovery/Resiliency, Homes and Communities in New York, says she reported being raped by an aide to Tammy's husband, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.
Brennan had served in Murphy's administration as director of the state Housing and Mortgage Agency.
She seems completely displeased with Murphy's response or lack thereof.
“Tammy Murphy should not be a sitting senator for New Jersey,” Brennan told the New York Post. 'I thought she would be sympathetic. She wasn't. She had opportunities to lead. She failed to lead. She didn't respond to me.'
Katie Brennan says Tammy Murphy, pictured, the First Lady of New Jersey, is unfit for a Senate seat after failing to address sexual assault allegations in 2018
Katie Brennan claimed she reported being sexually assaulted by an aide to Tammy's husband, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.
Last month, Tammy Murphy entered the U.S. Senate race for Bob Menendez's seat, who was indicted. Menendez has not announced any plans on whether he will seek re-election following the allegations.
Tammy Murphy and Democratic Rep. Andy Kim have both announced plans to run for the seat.
Tammy Murphy is known as the state's First Lady and a prolific fundraiser.
At the time of the alleged crime, Brennan had volunteered for Phil Murphy's gubernatorial campaign and served in his administration.
She claims Tammy Murphy had several opportunities to address the allegations, but failed to do so.
In 2020, Brennan reached a $1 million settlement with the state and Phil Murphy's campaign over the mishandling of her rape allegations against campaign worker Albert Alvarez.
No criminal charges were ever filed against Alvarez, but he was removed from his position in the Murphy administration.
Brennan expressed dissatisfaction with Tammy Murphy's response, or lack thereof, despite reaching a $1 million settlement with New Jersey and Governor Phil Murphy's campaign.
The New Jersey Legislature later conducted an independent investigation that found Murphy's team mishandled Brennan's accusation.
Brennan is now accusing Tammy Murphy of involving those who “abandoned” her in the Senate campaign, claiming she has not proven her fitness for office.
'I don't think she has proven herself. I know a lot of things that would disqualify her,” Brennan said.
Brennan emphasized that her criticism of Tammy Murphy is strictly personal and not related to any state politics, such as the current dispute between Governor Hochul and Murphy over a proposed $15 toll in New York City.
Murphy has filed a lawsuit to block the toll, claiming it is unfair to New Jersey drivers.
Hochul believes the toll will help create a new revenue stream for the state while reducing rush-hour traffic.
Brennan shared a 2018 email that she said was sent to both Phil and Tammy Murphy in 2018 in which she wanted to discuss a sensitive issue related to the campaign.
Brennan alleged she was raped by campaign worker Albert Alvarez. No criminal charges were ever filed against Alvarez, but he was removed from his position in the Murphy administration
'I would like to reintroduce myself. By way of background, I had the pleasure of volunteering for the campaign, serving on the Economic Working Group, leading the Housing Transition Committee, and currently having the honor of serving as Chief of Staff at New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. Brennan wrote at the time.
“I reluctantly come to you today to discuss something that happened during the campaign. If possible, I would like to meet both of you one on one about this sensitive issue,” she added.
Phil Murphy responded that he was familiar with the matter and assured her that his office was addressing the issue.
'We know you well. We add our respective teams to continue planning something. Wait a second. We are working on it. If we don't prove to be fast enough, please don't hesitate to contact Tammy or me directly. Thank you very much,” Murphy wrote, signing “Phil and Tammy M.”
Tammy was a key figure in her husband's administration, working on issues such as clean energy initiatives.
Tammy Murphy, left, pictured with her husband, Governor Phil, announced her candidacy after incumbent Senator Robert Menendez and his wife Nadine were indicted on federal bribery charges
Tammy Murphy has defended her commitment to preventing such situations from happening again in campaigns and in the workplace.
She recognized Brennan's courage in speaking out and outlined systemic changes including training on harassment, inclusion, diversity and the creation of a handbook to ensure a positive and inclusive workplace.
“I believe survivors of sexual assault and I believe Katie. As Phil and I have said before, we deeply regret that this experience happened to her. As a survivor of sexual assault myself, I believe Katie was extremely brave to speak out,” Tammy Murphy said.
“That said, we have pledged that we will never allow such a situation to happen again on our campaigns or in our workplace. We made systemic changes in Phil's re-election campaign, and have done the same in this campaign. These systemic changes include training on harassment, inclusion, diversity and a handbook to ensure staff understand what is expected of them to have a positive and inclusive workplace,” she added.
Tammy was a key figure in her husband's administration, working on issues such as clean energy initiatives.
Despite the personal nature of Brennan's attack, she announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate following the indictment of incumbent Senator Robert Menendez on federal bribery charges.
Brennan supports Democratic Rep. Andy Kim is running for the Senate seat, while Republican Christine Serrano Glassner, the mayor of the Borough of Mendham, is also running.