MONTPELIER, Vermont (AP) — A Republican state lawmaker from Vermont has apologized for repeatedly pouring water into a Democratic colleague’s bag after catching her doing so on video.
State Rep. Mary Morrissey publicly apologized from the House floor Monday to Rep. Jim Carroll, colleagues and the citizens of Vermont. Both are from Bennington, a city of about 15,000 in the southwest corner of the state.
“I am truly ashamed of my actions,” Morrissey said of “her disrespectful behavior” toward Carroll. She said she had apologized directly to Carroll and would work toward “resolution and redress throughout the legislative process.”
In response, Carroll told the room that he heard the sincerity in her voice, but he had to be honest, saying, “For five months I lived through this,” and Morrissey had a choice every time she did it.
“It was agony,” he said.
Carroll told The Associated Press that the tote bag he hangs in the hallway of the Statehouse was soaked several times a week in January and February. When he was charged with driving under the influence in February and returned from rehab, his bag was soaked almost every day, he said.
“It was brutal,” Carroll said, adding that he was fairly certain it was Morrissey, who he said often abused him. He placed a video camera behind a scarf on the opposite wall and recorded Morrissey pouring water from a glass into the bag on April 23 and 26. He then showed the footage to House Speaker Jill Krowinski, who confronted Morrissey.
“This is a truly disturbing situation that violates our legislative practices,” Krowinski, a Democrat, said in a statement. She added that “the integrity and decorum of our legislative processes and of lawmakers are of paramount importance, and any actions or behavior that compromises these values will be thoroughly investigated and addressed.”
Morrissey did not say why she did it, and she did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Carroll told fellow lawmakers Monday that the first time he and Morrissey talk will be awkward, “but we have to start somewhere.”
