On July 4, 2017, a woman who worked for State Sen. David Niezgodski’s campaign and his plumbing business asked him to stop contacting her. She asked twice in the same message.
Redress South Bend has obtained that email and others between them, along with audio recordings, from Jesse Davis, a South Bend native. Davis said the materials were previously sent to the Indiana Democratic Party, the St. Joseph County Democratic Party, and the Indiana Civil Rights Commission, and that none of the three acted.
Personal identifying information has been redacted from the materials published below.
The recordings are dated July 11, 2017. In one, Niezgodski says:
“You better damn well be able to say that you love someone. I love you. I love you in all the right ways. And I’ve done things in all the right ways. And I’ve been human along the way. I can’t **** defend that… it doesn’t matter. Done it in all the right ways. And I love you, don’t leave my life.”
The woman’s father wrote to party officials describing what he called repeated harassment of his daughter. He wrote that Niezgodski sent her more than 90 text messages over three days, called her phone late at night, and came to her home uninvited, entering without permission while she was next door at his house. He wrote that his daughter was forced to quit her job.
“This man should not be elected office,” he wrote. “There is no excuse for what he put my daughter and family through.”
He wrote that he was sickened to think how many others Niezgodski had done this to.
Below are excerpts from the emails.
Niezgodski, June 28, 2017: “Part of what is happening also is I have been having some talks lately with and without Sheila on how I am looking to wrap Kelly and possibly Grant into the business. And also I have been speaking with her about how I want to include you more in different things. She doesn’t handle change to awfully well:] As you have shared. Growing pains. Hang in there young lady:]”
The next night, June 29: “I don’t know what else to say but I just want to talk to you. I wanted you to be more closer to me on a daily basis for a long time.”
Later that evening: “If it is Indy that ultimately is what you want, the State Senator has a decent shot at finding you something also, just saying:]”
The woman, July 4, 2017: “I have one little boy who loves me and needs me and i cant take everything else, so stop please i can’t deal with someone else’s bs right now…Im dealing with my own shit right now so please stop…i can not take on any more…Sheila is ur best employee, she knows what she is doing and you would be losing out on someone who cares more about you than you know. I appreciate all you have done for me, i just need to move on. Please understand”
Logan Foster
Logan Foster is the founder and editor of Redress South Bend, an independent news outlet covering local government, courts, and public institutions in South Bend and St. Joseph County, Indiana. He reports from primary documents: public records requests, court filings, state audit reports, and campaign finance disclosures. His reporting has examined city and school district payments made without competitive bidding, school board spending, and the records of candidates in county races. Redress South Bend obtained the South Bend Police Department's ShotSpotter coverage map after the department initially denied public access. The outlet is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Online News Association. Reach him at info@redresssouthbend.com
