Further Proof New York State Politics is the Weirdest in the Country – Democrat Vito Lopez to Resign From Assembly Over Allegations of Sexual Harassment

And Here’s What He Will Do Next

One of the joys of leaving New York State, which The Dismal Political Economist did about nine years ago is leaving New York State politics and governance.  Yes there was the Eliot Spitzer disaster, but what really happens is that corruption runs rampant in the state legislature.  At any given point in time most of the Assembly or Senate members are either under indictment, are going to be under indictment, are being investigated in order to see if they should be indicted or wearing wires to record other members so they can be indicted.

But occasionally a member has to leave the legislature for just awful behavior.

Mr. Lopez - Looking Confused, Just Like the Rest of Us - On His Behavior

State Assemblyman Vito J. Lopez, the once-powerful Brooklyn Democratic leader who has been accused of sexual harassment by multiple women, said on Friday that he would resign.  .  .

The allegations against Mr. Lopez first became public last August, when the Assemblycensured him for sexually harassing two women who worked for him. The New York Times later reported that the Assembly had previously settled two other harassment allegations against Mr. Lopez, but had not made those settlements public and had not referred the allegations to a legislative ethics committee. Then this week, the anger over Mr. Lopez’s conduct intensified after the state’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics issued a report detailing the behavior alleged by multiple women, and on Thursday, Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Silver, both Democrats, said they wanted the Assembly to expel Mr. Lopez.

Now in most jurisdictions this would be the end of one’s public career.  But remember, this is New York.

But his offer only inflamed an uproar over his behavior because, a few words later, he said the resignation would not take effect for five weeks, and then he would run for a seat on the New York City Council.

That’s right, Mr. Lopez is resigning from the New York State Assembly after multiple accusations of in order to run for the New York City Council.  Kinda makes everyone wish they were registered to vote in that election.