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New York Rep. Eric Massa resigns over ethics issue
by Samia Sehgal - March 6, 2010 - comments
Massa's decision to pull out can definitely save him a lot of humiliation in public, since he has already accepted the allegations.
Eric Massa has decided to step down from his seat on Mar. 8. This decision of the New York Democratic Representative has come following a harassment complaint by a male staffer.
Massa has openly said that he wants to avoid a sexual harassment investigation. He said that he is resigning with “a profound sense of failure.”
Cancer concerns followed by ethics complaint
In a statement released on his official Web site, Massa says that his cancer has recurred but that is not the sole reason for his resignation. On Mar. 3 he had declared that wouldn’t seek re-election owing to health concerns.
After learning about his disease, he got to know of the ethics complaint launched against him by a male staffer, who was reportedly made “uncomfortable” by him.
“I will resign my position,” Massa said, taking full responsibility for the issue.
Massa admits fault
“There is no doubt in my mind that I did in fact, use language in the privacy of my own home and in my inner office that, after 24 years in the Navy, might make a Chief Petty Officer feel uncomfortable,” he said. “In fact, there is no doubt that this ethics issue is my fault and mine alone.”
He has accepted that he could not keep up to the standards he had set for other people and has admitted his fault.
“I know that my own language failed to meet the standards that I set for all around me and myself,” said Massa. “I fell short and I believe now, as I have always believed, that it is not enough to simply talk the talk, but rather I must take action to hold myself accountable.”
Saving disgrace by stepping down
Massa, 50, has clearly said his only intention in resigning is to save his family from the torment of an ethics committee investigation. "An ethics investigation would tear my family and my staff apart," he said.
His decision to pull out can definitely save him a lot of humiliation in public, since Massa has already accepted the allegations.
Fearing the impact of Massa’s behavior on the House Democrats, the party leaders want him to leave.
His vacancy may be filled in by a special election on the decision of New York Governor David Paterson, a Democrat, or it may remain unoccupied till the next election in November.