Assemblywoman Sandy Galef’s Statement Regarding Assemblyman Vito Lopez
(September 4, 2012) I believe that Assemblyman Vito Lopez should resign immediately from the New York State Assembly for the deplorable actions he has taken against employees of his legislative offices. No type of harassment is acceptable in the workplace or elsewhere. Assemblyman Lopez created and fostered a workplace in his state offices which we can never condone nor tolerate.
I want to indicate my clear support of the rights of any victim of any type of harassment.
Legal inquiries have begun with investigations by the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics and the Staten Island District Attorney. I anticipate these legal investigations will be thorough and at the end of the process, I will evaluate if additional anti-harassment laws need to be implemented to prevent this from happening again.
Also, after more accurate and complete information becomes public, I intend to evaluate what changes must be made in Assembly policies regarding potential lawsuits and improprieties of elected and appointed officials, to make sure victims have appropriate protections in place and that our policies are most effective in preventing this type of behavior. Our processes must be as transparent as possible while also protecting victims’ rights.
