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:
A California state senator has resigned over sexual misconduct
allegations just ahead of a possible vote by his colleagues to expel him.
Spokesman Robert Alaniz says Democratic Sen. Tony Mendoza stepped down
Thursday. He's the third California lawmaker to resign over sexual misconduct claims
in recent months.
In his resignation letter, Mendoza called the Senate's process
"farcical" and unfair and is still considering running for
re-election in the fall.
Wow! The arrogance is stifling. Do they have any shame? At all?!
An investigation found the Los Angeles-area Democrat likely engaged in
unwanted flirtatious and sexually suggestive behavior with six women.
He denies wrongdoing but has apologized if he made anyone feel
uncomfortable.
Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, Mendoza's former roommate in
Sacramento, had been pushing to impose the most serious punishment in the
Senate's arsenal for the first time since 1905.
This was not the first time that the state senate sought to expel a member. They were about to do the same thing to Roderick Wright (D-Inglewood) in 2014, when he was convicted of 8 counts of voter fraud and perjury. He ended up resigning, too, with a special election to follow in December that same year.
Final Reflection
It took what it took, but one more pervert is gone from the California State Senate. But there is still so much work to be done. We need to get GOOD people into office. We need to ensure that righteous people, men and women of faith and honor, represent Californians in Sacramento.
Or this #MeToo corruption will never end.
