MONTPELIER, Vt. — A Republican Vermont state lawmaker has apologized for repeatedly pouring water into a Democratic colleague’s purse after catching her doing it on video.
State Rep. Mary Morrissey publicly apologized to State Rep. Jim Carroll, her colleagues and the citizens of Vermont on the House floor Monday. Both are from Bennington, a city of about 15,000 people in the southwest of the state.
“I am truly embarrassed by my actions,” Morrissey said of “his disrespectful conduct” toward Carroll. She said she apologized directly to Carroll and would work toward “resolution and restoration throughout the legislative process.”
In response, Carroll told the camera that he heard the sincerity in her voice, but that he had to be frank, saying, “For five months, I went through this,” and Morrissey had a choice every time he did it.
“It was torment,” he said.
Carroll told the Associated Press that the bag he hangs in the Statehouse hallway was soaked a few times a week in January and February. Then, after he was charged with driving under the influence in February and returned from rehab, his bag was soaked almost daily, he said.
“It was relentless,” Carroll said, adding that he was quite confident it was Morrissey, who he said often mistreated him. He set up a video camera behind a scarf on the opposite wall and captured Morrissey pouring water from a cup into the bag on April 23 and 26. He then showed the footage to House Speaker Jill Krowinski, who confronted Morrissey with it.
“This is a truly disturbing situation that is at odds with our legislative practices,” Krowinski, a Democrat, said in a statement. She added that “the integrity and decorum of our legislative procedures and those of legislators are of paramount importance, and any actions or behaviors that compromise these values will be thoroughly investigated and addressed.”
Morrissey did not say why he did this and did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Carroll told fellow lawmakers on Monday that the first time he and Morrissey sit down to talk will be awkward, “but we have to start somewhere.”
