Embattled Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler announced Wednesday that he will not seek reelection next year in 2019 instead of stepping down from his post in light of sexual harassment allegations from a former employee.
Schedler had previously admitted to having a consensual relationship with his accuser; however, the accuser refuted this claim and has filed a civil lawsuit against the state’s lead election official.
“As always, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. ... All the facts will be revealed in the proper place, in the proper time. I do not intend to feed rumor mills and gossip columns,” Schedler said during Wednesday’s press conference. “I’ve been targeted in an unfair lawsuit.”
The Times-Picayune reported, “According to (the) lawsuit, the woman said Schedler propositioned her multiple times, sent her inappropriate messages and gave her undesirable work assignments when she rebuffed his advances. The woman also said Schedler bought a townhouse in the same complex as hers and indicated several times that he was keeping track of her and looking up information about her boyfriend.”
The New Orleans newspaper further reported, “In the lawsuit, the woman has said that she accompanied Schedler to Sedona, Ariz., for what she thought was a professional trip to look at voting machines. When they arrived, Schedler had only booked one hotel room for the both of them. According to the lawsuit, Schedler said the single room was booked because the hotel made a mistake.”
In the same press conference held this week, he stated, “I’m going to finish my term out in this position. I plan to fight these allegations.”
Wednesday’s events unfolded after other state officials, including Governor John Bel Edwards, have called on Schedler to resign immediately. “Because of the number of specific and serious allegations in the lawsuit and the fact that he has admitted to conduct that by definition is sexual harassment, he should immediately resign his position,” Governor Edwards said.
Not all elected officials from The Pelican State hold the same thoughts on the issue. One being the state’s freshman senator John Kennedy. “No one should be subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace. I’ve always known Tom to be an honorable person. I trust that the court will fairly and objectively sort out whether sexual harassment occurred,” he said last month in a written statement.
Schedler concluded Wednesday’s press conference by stating, “I, and I alone, stand here today, with all that I have left of my reputation as a good, honest, straight-forward guy, and say I’m sorry. I made a mistake, and I will leave it to God to judge what’s in my heart and what’s next for me in my life.”
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TONY MARKS