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The Tri-Valley is still reeling as one of its most notable political figures has been embroiled in sudden scandal this month after multiple accusers came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct.
Now-former congressman Eric Swalwell — who resigned last week under threat of expulsion amid the turmoil despite calling the serious claims “flat false” — quickly fell from a household name to a disgraced one just as his campaign for California governor was heating up and gaining significant traction.
While conservative media pundits like Laura Ingraham and Carmine Sabia may have dubbed Democrat Swalwell’s alleged behavior “the worst kept secret” in Washington, D.C., the news likely sent shockwaves throughout the Tri-Valley to many who watched his political career blossom during the past 15 years with widespread support and adoration from constituents and other local leaders.
Over the course of his two decades in public service, there’d been no allegations of this nature levied against the 45-year-old politician publicly, but as his gubernatorial campaign charged full steam ahead, his golden boy image was thrown off track.
Born in Iowa, Swalwell’s family moved from the Midwest and settled in Dublin when he was a child. He attended Wells Middle School and graduated from Dublin High School in 1999 before attending Campbell University and later transferring to the University of Maryland where he graduated from.
After finishing law school and returning home to settle back in the Tri-Valley in the mid-2000s, he worked as a prosecutor with the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office from 2006 to 2012, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He served on the city of Dublin’s Heritage & Cultural Arts Commission from 2006 to 2008 and on the Planning Commission from 2008 to 2010.
In 2010, he kicked off his career in elected office serving on his hometown’s city council.
He remained on the council until he put his bid in for Congress during the 2012 election to represent what was previously California’s 15th Congressional District before a redistricting in 2022 that became what is now District 14.
Swalwell won the 2012 race in an upset at 31 years old, unseating then 20-term incumbent Democrat Pete Stark. Swalwell held on to the seat ever since.
He also briefly joined the 2020 presidential race but dropped out early amid very low polling numbers. He chose instead to run for reelection to his congressional seat that year, which he won.
Just after the 2020 election, Swalwell faced the first major scandal of his political career involving a Chinese national named Fang Fang – also known as Christine Fang – accused of being a spy targeting American politicians between 2011 and 2015, including Swalwell. Those allegations came to light from reporting by national news outlet Axios.
The allegations raised in the Axios article included that Fang raised funds on behalf of Swalwell’s 2014 reelection campaign and recommended at least one potential intern who obtained a position in Swalwell’s Washington D.C. office.
While the news report stated that Swalwell was not accused of wrongdoing and he immediately cut ties with Fang in 2015 upon being notified of the FBI’s concerns, a complaint led to the House Ethics Committee opening an investigation. After two years, the ethics committee ultimately made no finding of wrongdoing, closing its probe and taking no further action on the matter as of May 2023.
Despite Swalwell feeling vindicated, the ordeal did leave a smudge on his reputation that continues to follow him, even amid the current sex abuse claims with many flooding his social media comments in recent weeks with references to Fang and alluding to him even having a romantic relationship with her.
Prior to announcing his resignation from Congress on April 14, Swalwell was in the middle of his seventh term in the House of Representatives, having won reelection most recently in 2024.
He had championed a number of causes tied to Tri-Valley issues, including the recent case of Miguel Lopez, a Livermore man who was deported to Mexico last year while attending what he thought was a routine meeting at an immigration office in San Francisco.
Swalwell joined the community of activists and Livermore residents banding together to help overturn Lopez’s deportation, even traveling down to Mexico to meet with him personally, according to a September 2025 post from Swalwell’s Instagram account — which converted to private in recent days. He also introduced H.R. 5294 that same month, a private bill that aims to grant Lopez permanent residency.
Swalwell was also a visible figure at recent “No Kings” rallies in the area and supported Dublin teachers during their four-day strike last month, speaking at a March 9 rally at Kolb Park. “You are the co-authors of our children’s lives and for that, we don’t just owe you a raise. We don’t just owe the community a smaller classroom. We owe you everything,” he said in his remarks.
While the Tri-Valley knew Swalwell’s name and face very well, he was gaining more recognition on a broader scale in recent years.
He was climbing the ranks within the Democratic Party, making national headlines and countless TV news appearances for his strong criticisms of President Donald Trump and his two administrations.
In an ironic twist of fate, Swalwell was among the many politicians demanding for the federal government’s release of the infamous Epstein files — documents pertaining to the activities of deceased financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — and on numerous occasions calling for Trump to be held accountable for alleged sexual misconduct.
He was also an impeachment manager during the second impeachment of Trump in 2021 related to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. His appointment to the role was “largely due to the respect given to Eric for his long leadership in the House and because on January 6th as a member of the Democrats’ leadership team, Eric stood his ground on the House floor”, according to Swalwell’s bio on his gubernatorial campaign website which remained active as of Monday morning.
Even as Swalwell loudly called out Trump as an abuser, he still had not been publicly accused of being one himself — until two weeks ago.
With Gavin Newsom on his way out, Swalwell had his sights set on becoming California’s next governor. But that journey was abruptly derailed on April 10 when news reports from the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN published that afternoon unveiled the stories of women who claim the married father of three abused them.
The Chronicle story detailed the account of one unnamed woman who previously worked for Swalwell. She alleged that, in different encounters between the years of 2019 and 2024, he solicited oral sex from her while she was working for him and sexually assaulted her on two occasions when she was intoxicated.
CNN shared that woman’s story as well as those of three other anonymous women who told the news outlet Swalwell harassed them in various ways, including sending nude photos and unwanted explicit messages.
That day sparked a wave of backlash, with key figures within his campaign resigning and a number of his peers and colleagues withdrawing their support. He suspended his campaign on April 12 and put in his resignation from Congress two days later.
That same day, April 14, yet another woman came forward. Lonna Drewes of Beverly Hills claimed she’d been raped and that she believed she had been drugged by Swalwell during an encounter in 2018.
Swalwell has denied all of the allegations, releasing multiple statements over the course of several days that attempted to clear his name of wrongdoing and defend his reputation. However, he has in more than one statement referenced undisclosed “past mistakes in judgment”.
He posted another statement from attorney Sara Azari on his behalf on April 14. He has been silent on social media since.
“These accusations are false, fabricated and deeply offensive – a calculated and transparent political hit job designed to destroy the reputation of a man who has spent twenty years in public service,” Azari wrote.
“The timing, nature, and coordinated rollout of these vile and heinous allegations speak for themselves. This is neither about justice, nor the truth. This is a ruthless and shameless attempt to smear Congressman Swalwell,” she added.
The Pleasanton Weekly reached out to Swalwell for comment but did not receive a response by time of publication.
Despite his claims of innocence, law enforcement agencies where some of the alleged incidents took place are taking the accusations seriously and have opened investigations against Swalwell.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said last week it was investigating the 2018 allegations, and the LA District Attorney’s Office said its sex crimes division was working with law enforcement involved in the case.
Days before that, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office had said that it was investigating a sexual assault allegation against Swalwell.
On April 16, multiple media outlets reported that the Department of Justice was launching an investigation into the allegations against Swalwell, although the agency had not confirmed their investigation as of press time.
And although it is unclear at this time if any alleged misconduct occurred in Swalwell’s home district, Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson said in a statement that she is, “closely monitoring this situation, and should there be a legal process from a case originating in Alameda County, I will act with full transparency to determine the most appropriate path forward”.
Additionally, Jones Dickson rescinded her endorsement of him and declined his endorsement as she campaigns to reclaim her spot as DA in the upcoming election.
Meanwhile, another question remains: Who will take over Swalwell’s vacated seat in Congress?
In a proclamation issued last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom set a special election to fill the seat for Aug. 18. The winner of that election would carry out the remainder of Swalwell’s current term.
Nine candidates are already on the June 2 primary election ballot seeking to succeed Swalwell in Congress for the next full two-year term beginning in January 2027.
Two weeks later, there will be a special primary election in the race to win the right to finish Swalwell’s unexpired term through 2026.
As of publication time, 10 candidates had already pulled papers for the June 16 special primary, including four who are also running in the regular primary. Melissa Hernandez, Wendy Huang, Dena Maldonado and Aisha Wahab are listed on the Alameda County election site.
They are joined by former state senator Steve Glazer along with Democrat Alisha Cordes, Republican Ozel Kirkland, Democrat Jot Thiara, Republican Jack Wu and Thomas Wong who is listed with no party affiliation.
Hernandez, a fellow Dubliner and the city’s former mayor, was among the many local leaders to issue statements when the allegations against Swalwell dropped, distancing themselves from him and denouncing his alleged behavior.
“I never want my daughter to believe that men in positions of power can take advantage of others and face no consequences,” Hernandez wrote April 11. She called the accusations “serious and disturbing” and called upon him to resign from Congress and end his gubernatorial campaign — which he ultimately did in the following days after numerous calls for him to do so.
Hernandez doubled down on her stance during the Weekly’s Congressional District 14 virtual candidate forum on April 12.
Similar sentiments were echoed by the other five participants that included Carin Elam, Huang, Rakhi Israni, Matt Ortega and Wahab. (The additional three candidates on the ballot, Maldonado, Victor Aguilar Jr. and Suzanne Chenault, were not in attendance.)
When asked about the allegations against their predecessor that had just came out two days prior, all six candidates on the panel said they stood by the alleged victims and each expressed strong condemnation for sexual misconduct.
Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda) also quickly withdrew her endorsement of Swalwell for governor after the Chronicle and CNN reports were published.
“The recent reporting on allegations of sexual assault by Congressman Swalwell are deeply disturbing and deserve to be taken seriously,” she said in an April 10 statement on social media. “This is criminal behavior and is definitely disqualifying for a leader of our great state,” she added.
Longtime Swalwell supporter and friend Tim Sbranti — who served as Dublin mayor during Swalwell’s entire tenure on the city council and later worked for him as his deputy chief of staff and district director — was listed as a signatory on a letter prepared by more than 50 former staffers that condemned their ex-boss and expressed support to their former colleague who is among the handful of accusers.
“What has been described is not a political attack. It is the account of a young woman who trusted her employer, who was targeted and exploited by someone in a position of power over her, and who has carried this burden for years,” the statement reads. “The corroboration reported by both outlets, including medical records and multiple witnesses, makes clear that this cannot be dismissed or deflected. No statement, no cease-and-desist letter, and no claim of political motivation changes what our colleague experienced.”
Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, whose District 4 includes portions of Pleasanton, wrote on Facebook April 13 that he was “shocked, saddened and disappointed” by the allegations against Swalwell.
The sentiment of his statement took more of an empathetic perspective toward Swalwell than most of the others, as he called the disgraced congressman a friend.
While noting that he stands “in firm support of sexual assault victims and can find no excuse for harm caused to them”, Miley also wrote, “Rep. Swalwell’s decision to suspend his gubernatorial campaign and to resign his congressional seat was, unfortunately, the only thing for him to have done for himself, his family and the electorate. I consider Rep. Swalwell a friend and have worked with him on many occasions over the years. This is a sad day for us all.”
Other Bay Area leaders who issued statements responding to the scandal include Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-Oakland) and Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-San Jose). Both expressed support for Swalwell’s resignation from Congress and suspending his gubernatorial campaign in their individual comments.
Liccardo also took it a step further and called out those who ignored longtime rumors of Swalwell’s alleged behavior toward women.
“We are left to confront the hard truth now: too many powerful people looked the other way, and even supported a man long rumored to abuse his position to exploit young women,” Liccardo wrote on social media April 14. “We must demand change.”
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