politics
A Republican congressman publicly apologized to a Democratic colleague in front of the Vermont House of Representatives after the latter was caught on video pouring water into his pocket multiple times over the course of 5 months.
“I am truly ashamed of my actions,” said Representative Mary Morrissey of Bennington, Vermont, at a Veto session of the House of Representatives Monday.
Videos of Morrissey pouring cups of water into a private bag belonging to Representative Jim Carroll, who also represents Bennington, were first acquired by Seven DaysThe news station obtained the videos through a public records request after Carroll placed a camera above the spot where he hung his bag in an attempt to seek out a perpetrator for steadily getting his belongings soaked.
“I went through this for five months,” Carroll said on the meeting after Morrissey's apology. “It was torture, there's no doubt about that.”
When House Speaker Jill Krowinski first saw the videos and confronted Morrissey about them, she initially denied them, it was reported, but later apologized to Carroll, an encounter Carroll described to the network as “uncomfortable.”
On Monday, Morrissey acknowledged her behavior was “disrespectful” and said she had privately apologized to Carroll. She added that she would “work toward resolution and restoration through our legislative process.”
“This behavior was highly disrespectful to my position as a representative and as a human being and reflects neither my 28 years of service nor my civility,” Morrissey said. She also asked her colleagues and the people of Vermont for forgiveness.
Morrissey has held her mandate since 1997.
She gave no reason for her actions andreported that the representative claimed to not know why she did it.
Carroll said he was repeatedly verbally harassed by his colleague, largely due to his political decisions, the source said.
“I hear the sincerity in your voice,” Carroll said. “And I'll be very frank with you … for five months I went through this. And every month, every day that I went through this, Representative Morrissey had to make a decision. And every time, she didn't choose to either drop it or come to me and say, 'I'm sorry, I messed up, let's put our heads together and serve our constituents the way we should.' And I'm really sorry for that and I'm sad.”
Carroll said he was willing to take a seat down with Morrissey to debate their issues, but acknowledged it may be “uncomfortable” at first.
“There's a lot of work to be done between the two of us,” he said. “It's going to be a little strange the first time we sit together, but we have to start somewhere.”
image credit : www.boston.com