HARRISBURG, Pa. - A Pennsylvania state lawmaker submitted his resignation letter Wednesday, a week after a union lobbyist accused him by name of having sexually harassed her four years ago.Democratic Rep.
Mike Zabel of Delaware County said in the letter to Democratic Speaker Joanna McClinton that his resignation will take effect March 16, leaving enough time for her to order that the vacancy be filled during the May primary."The toll is just too great on my family, and was too detrimental to my well-being.
I need to focus on what matters," Zabel said in a brief phone interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, shortly before sending the resignation letter.
McClinton's spokesperson said her office would soon issue a statement."Allegations of this nature are impossible to litigate in a public forum," he wrote in a subsequent text. "It was always my intention to go through the Ethics Committee process and defend myself there.