
New Jersey governor calls on lieutenant governor to resign after ethics investigation
Mikie Sherrill says Dale Caldwell âÂÂengaged in serious, repeated violationsâ involving staffers and gifts
New JerseyâÂÂs governor on Thursday called on the stateâÂÂs lieutenant governor, Dale Caldwell, to resign by Friday after a law firm hired by her office concluded he violated the stateâÂÂs ethics and discrimination rules.
The report published Wednesday found that Caldwell violated the stateâÂÂs policy prohibiting discrimination in the workplace. It said he made an advance toward a stafferâÂÂs friend and when he was rebuffed, he told the staffer: âÂÂYou young women are looking for young sperm.âÂÂ
âÂÂThe investigation found that the Lieutenant Governor engaged in serious, repeated violations of state policy and failed to uphold the responsibilities of his office,â Mikie Sherrill, the governor, said in a statement.
CaldwellâÂÂs lawyer, Thomas Calcagni, disputed the allegations, calling the investigation a one-sided operation that did not include necessary due process.
âÂÂThe Lieutenant Governor was not provided a meaningful opportunity to address each of these anonymous allegations,â he said in a statement.
The report also accused Caldwell of breaking the stateâÂÂs ethics rules by trying to get a promotion for a state employee he was dating and by bringing his personal guests to ticketed events without paying for them.
âÂÂWhere a sponsor waives admission to an event for an officialâÂÂs family member, friend, or date, the value of that admission is an impermissible benefit to the official,â the report said.
Sherrill, a Democrat, said CaldwellâÂÂs âÂÂethical lapsesâ continued even with multiple warnings and trainings. She called his resignation âÂÂin the best interest of New Jersey residentsâÂÂ.
âÂÂThese violations substantiated in the investigation reflect a pattern of behavior that does not meet the standards of this Administration,â she said.
