City Council Speaker Calls On Censured Brooklyn Assemblyman To Resign
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One of the city's most powerful Democrats is calling on Assemblyman and Brooklyn Democratic party leader Vito Lopez to step down after being censured for sexual harassment.
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn released a statement which says, in part, "There must be zero tolerance of sexual harassment in all workplaces, always. Vito Lopez should immediately resign from office and step down as chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party.”
Lopez was censured after an investigation found he sexually harassed two female staffers, including instances of "unwelcome touching."
In a letter to Lopez, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said the Assembly's ethics committee found the allegations credible.
Silver stripped Lopez of many of his privileges, removed him as chairman of the Assembly's committee on housing and barred him from having any interns or staffers under the age of 21.
Lopez has not yet made any official statements about his censure.