Whitman Responds to Claims About Former Maid, nytimes
SAN FRANCISCO – A day after the first gubernatorial debate, Republican candidate Meg Whitman started a preemptive attack against allegations that she had knowingly employed a Mexican housekeeper who was living illegally in the United States.
The housekeeper, Nicandra Diaz-Santillan, made her claims in an interview arranged by celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred, and broadcast on the gossip Web site TMZ.com. Ms. Diaz-Santillan was employed by Ms. Whitman for nine years, until 2009, and said she was terminated after she approached Ms. Whitman, confessed to not having papers, and asked about trying to become a legal resident.
“I wanted her to help me to get an immigration attorney,” said Ms. Diaz-Santillan, who broke into tears several times while speaking. “Ms Whitman just laughed and turned her face to one side.”
In a statement released shortly after Ms. Diaz-Santillan spoke, Ms. Whitman said Ms. Diaz-Santillan had lied on documents she’d submitted when she’d applied for the housekeeping position, and provided copies of the application to the media. She also asserted she had “immediately terminated Nicky’s employment” after Ms. Diaz-Santillan confessed that she was in the country illegally.
“It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” Ms. Whitman said, adding that she considered Ms. Diaz-Santillan a “friend and part of our extended family.”
But even before Ms. Allred’s press conference, the Whitman campaign had lashed out at her claims, calling them politically motivated.
“We find it very curious that after nine years of employment something like this would be brought forward 35 days before the election,” said Rob Stutzman, a senior advisor to Ms. Whitman, who described the allegations as a “desperate political attack.”
Mr. Stutzman said that Ms. Allred was a personal friend of Jerry Brown, the Democratic candidate for governor, and had donated to his past campaigns. “So there’s a clear relationship and party affiliation that’s undeniable,” he said.
Sterling Clifford, a spokesman for the Brown campaign, said that Ms. Allred had made a small contribution to his 2006 campaign for attorney general – the position Mr. Brown currently holds –but that he did not believe the two were friends.
Ms. Allred, who specializes in high profile, and often highly aggrieved, clients like Rachel Uchitel, the alleged mistress of Tiger Woods, said Ms. Whitman was aware of Ms. Diaz-Santillan’s status but chose to ignore it.
“Was Ms. Whitman engaging in her own form of ‘don’t ask don’t tell’?” she said.
Ms. Allred said that Ms. Whitman had received several notices from the Social Security Administration, starting in 2003, that indicated that the Social Security number provided did not match Ms. Diaz-Santillan’s name.
Ms. Whitman denied that –“We never received that letter or notification,” she said in a post-press conference media scrum — and her campaign provided photocopies of a California driver’s license and a Social Security card, both bearing Ms. Diaz-Santillan’s name. They also provided a copy of an Immigration form – called an I-9 – which Ms. Diaz Santillan signed, adding a happy face next to her signature, attesting that she was in the country as a lawful permanent resident.
In an e-mail, the Social Security Administration said that it had not sent so-called “no match” letters since 2007 and that information about letters sent prior to that was confidential and cannot be released.
Ms. Whitman’s treatment of employees has been an issue in the campaign before. In 2007, Ms. Whitman, the former chief executive of eBay, was accused of shoving an employee at that company and later paid a six-figure settlement in the face of a lawsuit. In her debate with Mr. Brown on Tuesday night, Ms. Whitman repeated her opposition to a path to legalization of million of illegal immigrants in Californians and voiced her support for workplace inspections to make sure that they are not employing undocumented workers. “We do have to hold employers accountable for hiring only documented workers,” she said. “And we do have to enforce that law.”
Ms. Allred says that she plans to file a claim with the state of California for wages Ms. Whitman never paid to Ms. Diaz-Santillan, as well as reimbursement for mileage used as the housekeeper ran various errands. But, in her own statement, Ms. Diaz Santillan said her goals were not monetary.
“I’m doing this because I know that here’s a lot of Megs out there,” she said, in broken English, “who are mistreating the Nickys who work so hard for them.”
The housekeeper, Nicandra Diaz-Santillan, made her claims in an interview arranged by celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred, and broadcast on the gossip Web site TMZ.com. Ms. Diaz-Santillan was employed by Ms. Whitman for nine years, until 2009, and said she was terminated after she approached Ms. Whitman, confessed to not having papers, and asked about trying to become a legal resident.
“I wanted her to help me to get an immigration attorney,” said Ms. Diaz-Santillan, who broke into tears several times while speaking. “Ms Whitman just laughed and turned her face to one side.”
In a statement released shortly after Ms. Diaz-Santillan spoke, Ms. Whitman said Ms. Diaz-Santillan had lied on documents she’d submitted when she’d applied for the housekeeping position, and provided copies of the application to the media. She also asserted she had “immediately terminated Nicky’s employment” after Ms. Diaz-Santillan confessed that she was in the country illegally.
“It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” Ms. Whitman said, adding that she considered Ms. Diaz-Santillan a “friend and part of our extended family.”
But even before Ms. Allred’s press conference, the Whitman campaign had lashed out at her claims, calling them politically motivated.
“We find it very curious that after nine years of employment something like this would be brought forward 35 days before the election,” said Rob Stutzman, a senior advisor to Ms. Whitman, who described the allegations as a “desperate political attack.”
Mr. Stutzman said that Ms. Allred was a personal friend of Jerry Brown, the Democratic candidate for governor, and had donated to his past campaigns. “So there’s a clear relationship and party affiliation that’s undeniable,” he said.
Sterling Clifford, a spokesman for the Brown campaign, said that Ms. Allred had made a small contribution to his 2006 campaign for attorney general – the position Mr. Brown currently holds –but that he did not believe the two were friends.
Ms. Allred, who specializes in high profile, and often highly aggrieved, clients like Rachel Uchitel, the alleged mistress of Tiger Woods, said Ms. Whitman was aware of Ms. Diaz-Santillan’s status but chose to ignore it.
“Was Ms. Whitman engaging in her own form of ‘don’t ask don’t tell’?” she said.
Ms. Allred said that Ms. Whitman had received several notices from the Social Security Administration, starting in 2003, that indicated that the Social Security number provided did not match Ms. Diaz-Santillan’s name.
Ms. Whitman denied that –“We never received that letter or notification,” she said in a post-press conference media scrum — and her campaign provided photocopies of a California driver’s license and a Social Security card, both bearing Ms. Diaz-Santillan’s name. They also provided a copy of an Immigration form – called an I-9 – which Ms. Diaz Santillan signed, adding a happy face next to her signature, attesting that she was in the country as a lawful permanent resident.
In an e-mail, the Social Security Administration said that it had not sent so-called “no match” letters since 2007 and that information about letters sent prior to that was confidential and cannot be released.
Ms. Whitman’s treatment of employees has been an issue in the campaign before. In 2007, Ms. Whitman, the former chief executive of eBay, was accused of shoving an employee at that company and later paid a six-figure settlement in the face of a lawsuit. In her debate with Mr. Brown on Tuesday night, Ms. Whitman repeated her opposition to a path to legalization of million of illegal immigrants in Californians and voiced her support for workplace inspections to make sure that they are not employing undocumented workers. “We do have to hold employers accountable for hiring only documented workers,” she said. “And we do have to enforce that law.”
Ms. Allred says that she plans to file a claim with the state of California for wages Ms. Whitman never paid to Ms. Diaz-Santillan, as well as reimbursement for mileage used as the housekeeper ran various errands. But, in her own statement, Ms. Diaz Santillan said her goals were not monetary.
“I’m doing this because I know that here’s a lot of Megs out there,” she said, in broken English, “who are mistreating the Nickys who work so hard for them.”
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