NJ Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell Quits After Misconduct Probe
New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Dale Caldwell has resigned following the release of an independent state investigation that concluded he committed repeated ethics violations and sexual harassment.
Yielding to pressure from Governor Mikie Sherrill less than a year into their administration, Caldwell stepped down after a 61-page report, conducted by the law firm Lowenstein Sandler, substantiated allegations including inappropriate romantic advances, attempting to improperly secure a promotion for a girlfriend, and repeatedly bringing unpaid guests to ticketed events, ABC News reported.
In a statement issued by his legal team to the New York Times, Caldwell strongly denied the investigation’s findings, claiming he stepped down only to put an end to character assassination rather than out of guilt over the report.
“I’m not resigning because of the report,” Caldwell said. “It’s false. I’m resigning because I don’t want to be a distraction to the administration.”
RELATED: Lonnie G. Bunch III, The First Black Smithsonian Secretary, Steps Down Amid White House Attacks
The investigation was launched after an anonymous complaint accused Caldwell of using his state business cards to ask women out in a “particularly shameless” manner. It also detailed three instances where he brought nonpaying guests to ticketed events.
On Friday, Sherrill formally accepted his resignation, emphasizing that public officials must be held to the highest ethical standards.
“What was so important to me was to make sure that if there are substantiated claims of sexual harassment and ethics violations, that I, as the leader of the government, handle that,” Sherrill said. “There has been a culture in Trenton, probably since the birth of our nation, to sweep this under the rug.”
“When I say there is a culture change taking place, I mean it,” she added. “This is part of it.”
To stabilize her administration ahead of the midterms, Governor Sherrill named Acting Comptroller Shirley Emehelu as acting secretary of state to oversee the upcoming elections. Meanwhile, Sherrill faces a 45-day deadline to select a permanent lieutenant governor as Caldwell’s legal team prepares to challenge the state’s investigative process in court.
Although he may have resigned, Caldwell’s fight has just begun, according to his legal team. Thomas R. Calcagni, Caldwell’s attorney, told WABC in New York City that they would “continue to forcefully challenge the report.”
“Dr. Caldwell’s resignation, submitted to put an end to the targeted campaign to discredit his character, does not in any way diminish our outrage concerning the investigative process and its specious findings,” said Thomas R. Calcagni, counsel to Caldwell. “Counsel is fully exploring all legal remedies to ensure a true, balanced, and unbiased record.”
Before his embattled tenure as lieutenant governor, Caldwell had a trailblazing career in public service, higher education, and sports administration spanning several decades. He became the first Black president and CEO of the USTA Eastern Section, where he founded the Black Tennis Hall of Fame, before making history as Centenary University’s first Black president.
Additionally, he was executive director of the Rothman Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) from October 2018 to March launched the Newark Alliance, served as Deputy Commissioner of Community Affairs, and was a 26-year veteran of the New Brunswick Board of Education.
SEO: NJ Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell Resigns Amid Probe
