Heidi Harmon blasts social media ‘trolls,’ as man sent nude photos on her last day
One day after stepping down as San Luis Obispo mayor, Heidi Harmon spoke out against personal and “misogynistic” attacks that ramped up in her final days of office — including the case of one person who sent her indecent photos right before her final City Council meeting on Tuesday.
Harmon, who has been the subject of online personal attacks throughout her time in office, said the behavior goes beyond her, presenting challenging security threats that deter future female candidates from seeking political roles.
Harmon is coordinating with police on the latest incident, saying she was emailed images of “a threatening and sexualized nature that included nude photos of the sender” on Tuesday afternoon, just before her last meeting as mayor.
The man’s identity is known, Harmon said, but not his whereabouts.
“I don’t know if this really rises to the level of an actual crime, although it seems like it would be indecent exposure,” Harmon said. “It’s certainly concerning.”
Harmon said the photos and sexually harassing language were “traumatizing,” especially as a rape survivor, which she has addressed in a past Tribune story.
She said the latest incident triggered post-traumatic stress, just as she was finishing her last day as mayor.
“It’s humiliating, frankly, and as I said last night (at the meeting), totally distracting when I’m trying to run a city, my last City Council meeting, which is important to me in and of itself, but the agenda was really important to me,” Harmon said. “I’m trying to concentrate, and meanwhile, behind the scenes, I’m dealing with this security situation and instead of this being the last thing I’m doing as mayor, chairing this meeting, the last thing I’m doing (as mayor) is meeting with the Police Department.”
Harmon resigned from her position after announcing in August that she’d accepted a new role as senior public affairs director with the Romero’s Institute’s Let’s Green California initiative.
The City Council will hold a meeting to move forward with appointing a mayoral successor on Oct. 5.
Harmon condemns culture of misogyny
Harmon said that social media posts with sexualized, demeaning, or physically threatening language puts personal security at risk, particularly for female politicians, and acts as a deterrent for some for running for office.
She said the ongoing abusive social media comments happened throughout her five-year tenure as SLO mayor.
“Calling me Mayor Fat Face, first of all, it’s just ridiculous,” Harmon said. “And frankly, I’m grateful to be now engaging with the fossil fuel industry (as a climate action advocate), which is a foe much more worthy of my intellect. You can quote me on that.”
She said the social media attacks on her from “keyboard cowards” escalated leading to her last day in office, possibly because those who take the opportunity to send vitriolic comments knew that they could be blocked once she departed.
As mayor, Harmon previously was required to unblock followers from her social media accounts as a requirement of laws mandating open access to government.
Some critics say she blocked those with opposing views, but now Harmon disputes that notion.
Harmon directly addressed her “trolls” in an Instagram post Tuesday as she wound down her final hours in office.
“One last thing before I go, or actually, before you go, trolls,” Harmon said. “What’s been happening on this page is completely unacceptable. Let’s be clear, these are not comments about policies or differences of opinion about important things. There’s name-calling, especially misogynistic name-calling, on this page on a daily basis, and it’s totally unacceptable.”
She also posted examples of some of the sexually offensive memes and messages she’s received on Instagram.
Harmon said the people who attack her almost always hide behind fake names and online personas.
“With an upsurge in comments and these last few weeks, some of which are also threatening, frankly ... things like comparing me to Marie Antoinette and reminding me that, you know, basically, she got her head cut off, and knowing that this person is going to keep their eye on me,” Harmon said. “I’ve had several people, especially, that have come from bigger cities, they’re surprised that I don’t have security. But a city of our size doesn’t have those resources.”
Harmon added: “What bothers me is that people, especially young women who follow this page, see that, and it impacts them.”
Harmon said on Instagram she was looking forward to creating distance between the “trolls” and her with “personal boundaries,” starting at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
Harmon isn’t the only outspoken female council member to raise alarm about disturbing posts and messages.
Another progressive local politician, Morro Bay Council member Dawn Addis, also has faced threats and attacks.
In 2019, police investigated an incident involving a local man who allegedly sent her harassing and annoying emails, including comments of a sexual and gender-based nature that were labeled “misogynistic assaults.”
“The Trump administration, the culture of the language that was used by the commander-in-chief, was of a nature that really allowed for any of the guardrails, that had maybe been loosely on, at that point just to come off completely,” Harmon said. “I mean, if you’re going to have the president of the United States be essentially heralded for his pride in grabbing women by the p---y. Then it’s open season on women and other marginalized groups.”
Nearly four hours into the council meeting, Harmon took a few minutes after public comment on a local labor policy discussion to address the security issue.
She urged the community and council to take a strong stance against inappropriate treatment of elected officials, especially women, saying it’s “creating a culture of violence.”
“This is unacceptable,” Harmon said. “I can’t tell you how many young women said they wouldn’t run for office because of how they’ve seen me in this role. That is incredibly dangerous.”
This story was originally published September 22, 2021 at 6:23 PM.
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