(New Hartford, NY- May 20, 2013) Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney (R,C,I-New Hartford), having called for the resignation of the Speaker in August 2012 over the Vito Lopez scandal, renewed the call for action by members of the Assembly, by signing her resolution to unseat Speaker Silver and establish a new Speaker who can ethically and fairly work with all parties to make New York a safer and better place for women.
A year ago, Silver admitted that he secretly bypassed the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE), a body designed to put an end to the corruption that has mired Albany for far too long.
“To protect a personal friend and political ally from the consequences of his disgraceful behavior, Silver used public funds as hush money to cover up the sexual abuse of numerous female state employees,” said Tenney.
This is not the first time Speaker Silver has misused his power to protect a political ally. In 2005, Silver used taxpayer money to pay off another victim of sexual harassment by his political aide, J. Michael Boxley, who consequently was arrested for sexual assault of a legislative aide.
“New Yorkers have the utmost contempt for the secrecy, corruption and lack of integrity in Albany, and Speaker Silver, as the highest officer of the Assembly, proved them right once again. The pattern of bad behavior, secrecy, corruption and theft of taxpayer money suggests that these may not be isolated instances,” Tenney said.
“Not until after the JCOPE report detailing the explicit and disturbing behavior of Silver’s one-time ally, Lopez, was released, did the Speaker call for Lopez to step down for his inappropriate actions.
“As proven by his own admission, we know Silver was aware of Lopez’s indiscretions because he had to authorize thousands of dollars of taxpayer money to settle the issue out of court in June 2012. It was not until the release of the graphic account of what transpired that the public and media demanded action, and only then did Speaker Silver decide that dignity, professionalism and safety for women in the work place was more important than staying buddy-buddy with his powerful political crony, Lopez.
“This is all the more outrageous because Speaker Silver and the Assembly Democrats pushed through the same ethics rules that they are now flouting. They cannot live by their own rules, let alone the rules they expect the rest of us to live by.
“I ask that my colleagues join me in the call for Speaker Silver’s resignation. This has gone too far,” concluded Tenney.
Submitted by the office of Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney.