# Bill Brough > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bill_Brough > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bill_Brough.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Brough > Source revision: 1350868825 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **William P. "Bill" Brough** (/broʊ/, BROH; born October 15, 1966) is an American politician who served three terms in the [California State Assembly](/source/California_State_Assembly). A [Republican](/source/California_Republican_Party), he represented the [73rd district](/source/California's_73rd_State_Assembly_district), encompassing southern [Orange County](/source/Orange_County,_California).[1] Prior to being elected to the state legislature, he was a [Dana Point](/source/Dana_Point,_California) [City Councilman](/source/City_Council). Previously, Brough served as chief of staff to California State Assemblywoman [Diane Harkey](/source/Diane_Harkey), White House liaison at the [Department of Veterans Affairs](/source/United_States_Department_of_Veterans_Affairs) in the [George W. Bush](/source/Presidency_of_George_W._Bush) administration, and aide to former congressman [Christopher Cox](/source/Christopher_Cox). In 2016, he founded the California Legislative [Irish](/source/Irish_People) Caucus.[2][3] ## Personal life After high school, Brough enlisted in the [U.S. Army](/source/U.S._Army), serving on active duty 1986–1990, and graduated from the [University of Connecticut](/source/University_of_Connecticut) in 1995. Brough and his wife have two children.[4] ## Sexual harassment and violence allegations In June 2019, two women accused Brough of making unwanted sexual advances to them in public settings. [Orange County](/source/Orange_County,_California) Supervisor [Lisa Bartlett](/source/Lisa_Bartlett) charged that Brough cornered her in a local restaurant in March 2011, when both were serving on the [Dana Point](/source/Dana_Point,_California) City Council, and pressed his groin against her. After she broke free and left, she filed a complaint against him with the city. Also, a Laguna Beach real estate agent who worked on campaigns for Bartlett and Brough, said Brough harassed her about five years prior, before he was sworn into the state Assembly in 2014. Brough has denied the allegations.[5] On May 27, 2020, Brough was stripped of all his committee assignments after the California State Assembly Workplace Conduct Unit found that Brough had improperly touched and propositioned female staff members, including impliedly offering political favors in exchange for sexual activity.[6] In 2020, The *Orange County Register* reported that at least six women accused Brough of sexual assault or harassment over the previous decade.[7] In spite of the sexual harassment allegations against him, Brough sought reelection to a fourth term in 2020. He was soundly defeated in the primary, coming in fourth place. [Laguna Niguel](/source/Laguna_Niguel) [Mayor](/source/Mayor) [Laurie Davies](/source/Laurie_Davies_(politician)), a fellow Republican, went on to win the general election.[8] ## Campaign finance allegations In August 2019, the California Ethics Commission announced it would investigate Brough's alleged misuse of campaign funds. He is charged with spending campaign contributions to pay off his family's cell phone bill, eat at expensive restaurants, and take a personal trip to a [Boston Red Sox](/source/Boston_Red_Sox) game, among other personal expenditures. The total payments in question since he took office add up to nearly $200,000.[9] ## 2014 California State Assembly See also: [California State Assembly elections, 2014](/source/California_State_Assembly_elections,_2014) ## 2016 California State Assembly See also: [California State Assembly election, 2016](/source/California_State_Assembly_election,_2016) ## 2018 California State Assembly See also: [California State Assembly election, 2018](/source/California_State_Assembly_election,_2018) ## 2020 California State Assembly See also: [2020 California State Assembly election](/source/2020_California_State_Assembly_election) ## References 1. ["William Brough"](https://ballotpedia.org/William_Brough). Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2016-12-21. 1. Corr, Frank. ["Californian Leaders in Dublin"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190120144605/https://hospitalityenews.ie/index.php/19-news/8215-californian-leaders-in-dublin). *hospitalityenews.ie*. Archived from [the original](http://hospitalityenews.ie/index.php/19-news/8215-californian-leaders-in-dublin) on 2019-01-20. Retrieved 2016-12-21. 1. Murphy, Mark (2016-07-18). ["Strengthening Business Links Between California and Ireland"](http://www.fft.ie/strengthening-business-links-between-california-and-ireland/12735). *FFT.ie*. Retrieved 2016-12-21. 1. ["William P. Brough – Council Member"](http://www.danapoint.org/index.aspx?page=600). City of Dana Point. 1. Bryan Anderson (June 24, 2019). ["California lawmaker under fire for multiple cases of alleged sexual harassment"](https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article231902988.html). *The Sacramento Bee* 1. ["Assemblyman William Brough loses committee assignments after sexual misconduct investigation - Los Angeles Times"](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-05-27/california-assemblyman-bill-brough-loses-committee-assignments-misconduct-investigation) 1. Staggs, Brooke (December 3, 2020). ["Former legislative aide accuses Assemblyman Bill Brough of raping her in 2015"](https://www.ocregister.com/2020/12/03/former-legislative-aide-accuses-assemblyman-bill-brough-of-raping-her-in-2015/). *Orange County Register*. Retrieved December 7, 2020. 1. ["Election 2020: Laurie Davies ready to serve 73rd Assembly District"](https://www.ocregister.com/2020/11/03/election-2020-early-returns-show-laurie-davies-with-slight-lead-over-scott-rhinehart-in-race-for-73rd-assembly-district/). 4 November 2020. 1. Bryan Anderson (August 29, 2019). ["California lawmaker was accused of harassment. Now his campaign spending is under investigation"](https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article234533332.html). *The Sacramento Bee* ## External links - [Official website](https://web.archive.org/web/20141202211707/https://ad73.assemblygop.com/) - [Campaign website](http://billbrough.org/) - [Bill Brough at votesmart.org](https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/129522/bill-brough) - [Join California Bill Brough](http://www.joincalifornia.com/candidate/14114) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bill Brough](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Brough) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Brough?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.