New Jersey's governor asks lieutenant governor to resign over alleged ethics violations

New Jersey's governor on Thursday called on the state's lieutenant governor, Dale Caldwell, to resign by Friday after a law firm hired by her office concluded he violated the state's ethics and discrimination rules.

The report published Wednesday found that Caldwell violated the state’s policy prohibiting discrimination in the workplace. It said he made an advance toward a staffer’s friend and when he was rebuffed, he told the staffer, “you young women are looking for young sperm.”

“The investigation found that the Lieutenant Governor engaged in serious, repeated violations of state policy and failed to uphold the responsibilities of his office,” Gov. Mikie Sherrill said in a statement.

Caldwell’s lawyer, Thomas Calcagni, disputed the allegations, calling the investigation a one-sided operation that did not include necessary due process.

“The Lieutenant Governor was not provided a meaningful opportunity to address each of these anonymous allegations,” he said in a statement.

The report also accused Caldwell of breaking the state’s 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.

“Where a sponsor waives admission to an event for an official’s family member, friend, or date, the value of that admission is an impermissible benefit to the official,” the report said.

Sherrill, a Democrat, said Caldwell’s “ethical lapses” continued even with multiple warnings and trainings. She called his resignation “in the best interest of New Jersey residents.”

“These violations substantiated in the investigation reflect a pattern of behavior that does not meet the standards of this Administration,” she said.

Golden reported from Seattle.