Sheldon Silver's handling of sexual assaults against female staffers is wholly unbecoming for a member of the New York state Assembly, let alone a speaker. He is unfit to serve the people of New York in his leadership capacity, and on Tuesday, I called for his resignation as speaker.
To call for the resignation of a speaker of the state Assembly is not a decision arrived at lightly.
But Speaker Silver has actively disregarded the well-being and safety of women working in the state Capitol.
Faced with well-substantiated charges that a powerful member of his caucus, Vito Lopez, had sexually harassed two staffers, Silver did not refer the matter to the Assembly Ethics Committee. Instead, he took an active role in covering up the assaults, including authorizing secret payments of more than $100,000 of taxpayer money to the victims.
These assaults would never have seen the light of day, but for subsequent assaults by Lopez coming to light with the result that he was finally relieved of his chairmanships of a powerful Assembly committee and of the Brooklyn County Democratic Party.
Silver claims that his actions authorizing the payments were "legal and ethical."
A judge-appointed special prosecutor may ultimately determine if the speaker's actions warrant criminal charges, but we don't need a prosecutor to rule on the ethics of Silver's actions.
Once is enough. But Silver has a history of mishandling sexual assault charges. A 2004 rape claim against Silver's chief counsel resulted in a guilty plea to a lesser charge and a $500,000 payment of government funds.
Both Vito Lopez and Silver's chief counsel had previously been accused of sexual assaults. By silencing their first victims with a sham investigation and a payment of government funds, the speaker must be held responsible for their subsequent victims.
Silver's icy treatment of his chief counsel's first reported victim as related by the woman is telling: "He would barely make eye contact with me, he was sitting back in his chair ... just eating pretzels."
It's a dark day for New York government when the speaker is known less for his role as a legislator than for his role in enabling and covering up sexual misconduct. When New Yorkers' tax dollars are used to bury sexual harassment and rape allegations, it is time for a change in leadership.
Enough is enough. It is time for Sheldon Silver to resign.
Ed Cox
Chairman, New York Republican State Committee
Albany