Disgraced Democrat’s resignation could soon tie up the Pa. state House
Salena Zito
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HARRISBURG — Embattled Pennsylvania state Rep. Mike Zabel — a Delaware County Democrat who was facing numerous allegations of sexual harassment — has announced in a letter to House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D) that he will resign his seat effective March 16.
Zabel’s resignation came just hours after Armstrong County state Rep. Abby Major (R), a Western Pennsylvania Republican, held a news conference where she outlined her own personal encounter with Zabel in November of last year.
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This subtraction for the Democrats means they will only hold a one-seat state majority and then likely a split House after a May special election is held to fill a vacant but heavily Republican seat in Monroe and Northampton Counties.
Last week, Zabel sent a letter to the state Democratic house leadership stating he would not resign from office but would seek treatment for an unnamed “illness” that has “caused some behavior that I regret.”
SpotlightPA, an independent investigative news organization that collaborates with several Pennsylvania newspapers, reported extensively on the allegations that began in January when Andi Perez, a lobbyist for Service Employees International Union 32BJ, told reporters a week ago that the lawmaker harassed her while they discussed a bill outside of the Capitol building in 2019; an account the news organization corroborated with another woman who witnessed the incident.
Perez also shared text messages from Zabel the next day, wherein he said he was sorry for his “bad manners.”
Since that report, two additional women have come forward alleging inappropriate behavior from Zabel; both Perez and the powerful progressive SEIU PA State Council had asked that Zabel resign, although no Democratic leaders, including McClinton, the first-ever female speaker, ever publicly called on him to do so.
The final push may have come Wednesday morning when Major, a western Pennsylvania lawmaker, held a press conference calling Zabel “a creep” for propositioning her at an event and following her to her car.
Immediately after her press conference, Philadelphia Rep. Joe Hohenstein (D) called on Zabel to resign.
“Obviously, Zabel was under a lot of backroom pressure to vacate the office,” remarked G. Terry Madonna, a political science professor at Millersville University. Madonna said he doesn’t see how the House can avoid an “unprecedented” third election for speaker this session. In January, the GOP state house held a temporary majority and helped elect Democrat Rep. Mark Rozzi as speaker. After he won the votes, he shocked everyone in the room by switching his party affiliation to Independent.
After three special elections in February handed the Democrats a slim majority, they elected Philadelphia Democrat McClinton, the first female speaker.
But now, Madonna said, all of that is in question once the May special election makes the tie official.
McClinton told WITF radio in an interview Monday that the issue is “something sensitive” and that “me and my leadership team do not take these allegations lightly.”
McClinton never publicly called for the Delaware lawmaker’s resignation; she told a local radio station she was not his boss and she “can’t just demand someone to give me their resignation.”
While that may be technically true, history shows when house speakers in state legislatures or in congress call on members to resign after numerous highly charged allegations are made — most of the time, they ultimately leave office.
During her press conference, Major said, “Tom, the men listening to this, you will never understand the feeling of a man touching you, following you, making you feel incredibly uncomfortable and unsafe, and being able to do nothing about it.”
Major said in an interview with the Washington Examiner after Zabel’s resignation that the reason she came forward today was that she couldn’t stand by any longer and watch him get away with his behavior.
“We talked to a reporter over a week ago and gave him this information, and nothing happened,” she said, she said of herself and another lawmaker who has requested to remain anonymous. “We didn’t know what else to do.”
“Someone had to do something, that is why I did what I did today,” she said. “I am hoping that added that extra layer of pressure and stood up for all women today — in particular on the day everyone is supposedly celebrating the International Day of Women.”