Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell. Photo credit: State of New Jersey
By Ryan Conway
NJ State House News Service
Gov. Mikie Sherrill gave Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell one day to resign and released a report Thursday night that determined he tried to have his romantic partner promoted to a state job, made a sexually inappropriate comment to a staffer and committed ethics violations.
Caldwell, who also serves as Secretary of State, has denied accusations of inappropriate behavior with women and possible ethics violations, as first reported by the New Jersey Globe earlier this month.
Former N.J. Attorney General Cristopher Porrino, who previously served under former Republican Gov. Chris Christie, was hired by Sherrill to investigate the matter after an anonymous complaint was sent in May to the State Ethics Commission.
In the 61-page report Sherrill released Thursday night, Porrino found that a preponderance of the evidence showed Caldwell had “attempted on multiple occasions to secure a promotion for a state employee with whom he had a romantic relationship” even after the investigation had begun. The report also concluded Caldwell’s actions “constituted sexual harassment.”
“The investigation found that the Lieutenant Governor engaged in serious, repeated violations of state policy and failed to uphold the responsibilities of his office. I’m calling for his resignation,” Sherrill said Thursday. “These violations substantiated in the investigation reflect a pattern of behavior that does not meet the standards of this Administration. The ethical lapses persisted despite multiple warnings and trainings.”
Caldwell has consistently denied wrongdoing. In his May 28 written response to the State Ethics Commission, he wrote: “it is deeply disappointing and personally painful for someone to attempt to damage my reputation and slander my character with false and misleading accusations.”
In a written statement published Thursday night by Insider NJ, Caldwell’s lawyer denied the allegations.
“These due process concerns, coupled with breaches of confidentiality throughout the process, render any findings palpably deficient and create a dangerous and challenging precedent for anyone who wishes to defend against anonymous conjecture and character assassination,” the statement said.
Sherrill has long been mum on much of the investigation, refusing to even admit an investigation was even ongoing in a press conference held in Woodbridge earlier this month, when the investigation was first made public. Thursday was her first official acknowledgement on the matter.
“The Lieutenant Governor’s resignation is necessary and in the best interest of New Jersey residents,” Sherrill said.
Professor Micah Rasmussen, the director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University, said that he wouldn’t be too sure that Caldwell will just back down, given that he recently hired experienced lawyers to advise him.
“Those moves do not suggest someone who is planning to go away quietly, they suggest someone who is staying to fight, someone who doesn’t necessarily think that what he did was wrong,” Rasmussen said.
Although Sherrill chose Caldwell as her running mate last year, she can’t fire him. Instead, Rasmussen said, if Caldwell refuses to resign she could ask the Assembly to start impeachment proceedings. But Rasmussen isn’t confident that would be the next step, because while the report details ethical violations, it doesn’t mention any criminal activity.
“If you read the report, I am not certain that there is anything in the report that says he broke the law,” Rasmussen said. “It does suggest alleged ethical violations, it details alleged inappropriate behavior, but I don’t know that the report, from what I’ve read very quickly, says anything about him breaking the law. And impeachment is typically reserved for breaking the law.”
As Secretary of State, Caldwell is also in charge of the state’s November elections. However, the State Senate never confirmed Caldwell as Secretary of State, meaning he serves as “pleasure of the governor.” That means theoretically, Sherrill could fire him as Secretary of State, but not Lieutenant Governor, Rasmussen suggested.
The substantiated allegations in the report included two efforts to have a romantic partner promoted by a state agency; making a romantic approach to a staffer’s female friend, and then later telling the staffer “you young women are looking for young sperm” in violation of workplace policies prohibiting discrimination; and bringing guests to at least seven ticketed events without payment, including two Black History Month galas and the State Opera of New Jersey’s annual gala.
Ryan Conway is a student at The College Of New Jersey, majoring journalism with a minor in communications.
