It happened!
Not as soon as I had expected, because I had claimed that he would step down by Christmas 2017.
But State Senator Tony Mendoza has left the building.
He resigned today, as he faced a vote of expulsion this week for sexual misconduct allegations, allegations which a separate panel deemed to be true.
I wonder how many more Democrats are going to get sucked down into this #MeToo controversy next?
State Senator Kevin De Leon, who faced fire for sharing a house with Mendoza, moved out immediately, and even responded to charges I had issued his way at the Santa Monica Democratic Club a few weeks prior.
It's staggering that he held on as long as he did, yet the rule of law and process must prevail. False allegations are a serious matter, too. But the independent panel determined that Mendoza more likely than not engaged in the perverse behavior, preying on women in his office, and inviting them to his home.
Very inappropriate behavior. When will people start to realize that it is not wise to engage in proximate or intimate working conditions with the opposite sex? No one should trust his or her flesh.
No one. Never meet with a staffer member alone, or even a child. It's just not wise. But wisdom is in extremely short supply in Sacramento, and the moral climate is worse, far worse.
The Associated Press reports:
allegations just ahead of a possible vote by his colleagues to expel him.
Thursday. He's the third California lawmaker to resign over sexual misconduct claims
in recent months.
"farcical" and unfair and is still considering running for
re-election in the fall.
unwanted flirtatious and sexually suggestive behavior with six women.
uncomfortable.
Sacramento, had been pushing to impose the most serious punishment in the
Senate's arsenal for the first time since 1905.