Delegate Mark Keam (D-Fairfax) is the first elected official to call for the resignation of Delegate Joe Morrissey (D-Henrico) who has been charged with having sex with an underage girl. Keam urged Morrissey to step down “to deal with his legal problems as a private citizen.”
“As with all criminal allegations, the accused deserves to be treated as innocent until proven guilty by … a jury of his peers,” he said in a statement. “But whether these charges ultimately prove to be true or not, one thing is absolutely clear — no person accused of such horrendous acts should hold a position of public trust.”
“The job requires each of us to uphold the highest standard of ethics in order to earn and to retain our constituents’ trust in their government. Unfortunately, just in the past few years alone, we have seen too many members of the House and the Senate, and even a governor, leave their positions under dark clouds of ethical lapses or criminal suspicions.”
Today outside the Henrico County Courthouse Morrissey told the press there is no chance he will resign because he is completely innocent of any wrongdoing.
Speaker of the House of Delegates, William Howell, has been silent on the charges against Morrissey. It would take a two-thirds vote of the House of Delegates to expel Morrissey.
