WASHINGTON – The Virginia legislature is facing the prospect of a recurring political nightmare: having to repeatedly expel a disgraced member who may just keep getting re-elected.
Delegate Joseph Morrissey, a Democrat who ran as an independent, won in a special election Tuesday while running his campaign from a jail cell as a convicted sex offender.
Despite facing expulsion, it appears Morrissey could easily win re-election again, judging by his landslide victory to fill his vacant post.
The 57-year-old was convicted last month of having had sex numerous times with his then 17-year-old receptionist, who is now pregnant.
She denied the child is his and called Morrissey a good friend. But Morrissey pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor to avoid a possible conviction on felony charges.
In addition to having sex with the teen, prosecutors said Morrissey and the girl exchanged explicit text messages with nude photos, while the then-Democrat claimed their phones were hacked by the girl’s spurned lesbian ex-lover.
As WND reported, fellow Democrats were relieved Dec. 18 when Morrissey announced his intention to resign. But they were mortified when he said in the next breath he planned to seek re-election in the special election Jan. 13.
Running as an independent in a heavily Democratic district, the Richmond Suburb of Henrico County, Morrissey won with 42 percent of the vote. Democrat Kevin Sullivan had 33 percent and Republican Matt Walton garnered 24percent.
Members of Virginia’s House of Delegates were spending Wednesday reviewing their options to expel Morrissey.
However, given the voters’ sentiments, there is no reason to believe Morrissey could not win re-election in another special election.
And another.
In fact, lawmakers may have to concede it would be pointless to continue to try to remove Morrissey.
However, delegates are also moving to censure him, which would cause him to lose committee assignments, remove his floor privileges and bar him from boards or commissions.
“[I]t’s hard to speak for all 30 members, but the caucus is increasingly resolute that he needs to move on,” Scott Surovell, chairman of the state’s House Democratic Caucus, told WND in December.
After making his plea deal, Morrissey was sentenced to six months.
He campaigned by day on a work-release program and returned to his jail cell at night.
He was behind bars when he learned of his victory and did not issue a victory statement.
Morrissey’s decision to run for re-election had put Democrats in the uncomfortable position of trying to dump their own candidate until he ran as an independent.
“Initially, the mood of the caucus was disappointment and discouragement over his conviction and his initial decision not to resign,” Surovell told WND.
After Morrissey’s decision to run again, Democratic colleagues just wanted to move on.
Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones, chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia, told WND in a statement: “Having served in the House of Delegates, I know there is a high moral standard which we all expect from our representatives. Delegate Morrissey made the right decision to step down.”
Virginia’s Democratic governor, Terry McAuliffe, has stated Morrissey should resign.
“That remains his position and he’s hopeful that we can move on from this episode without further embarrassment to this commonwealth,” a spokesman for the governor said.
Virginia House Speaker William Howell, a Republican, had called Morrissey’s re-election bid a “despicable, arrogant political stunt that should disgust each and every citizen of Virginia.”
State House Minority Leader David Toscano, a Democrat, called Morrissey’s decision to run “outrageous and sad” and “a sorry display of political grandstanding.”
For his own part, Morrissey said, in what appeared to be an understatement, “Right now, there is a bit of a cloud or a taint over my seat.”
However, he added, there is “absolutely no case precedent or constitutional precedent to stepping down because of a misdemeanor conviction.”
No stranger to scandal, Morrissey still managed to win five previous elections, including re-election to the Virginia legislature last year.
- Morrissey has been cited for contempt of court 10 times and jailed or arrested five times.
- As the commonwealth’s attorney, Morrissey punched a prosecutor in the face in a hallway after the judge ordered them to take their argument outside during a heroin trial in 1991.
- Morrissey was indicted on bribery and perjury charges for an alleged payoff in a rape case he was handling in 1993. He was acquitted by a jury, but a judicial panel suspended his law license for six months, finding his conduct unethical.
- In 1998, a federal judge sentenced Morrissey to 90 days in jail for improperly speaking to reporters about a drug case. He was also barred from court for two years.
- In 1999, Morrissey got into a fistfight with a home contractor. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail after investigators found he had faked the number of hours of community service he served.
- He was disbarred in 2001 by a judicial panel which cited Morrissey’s “long track record of severe ethical problems.” A federal judge banned him from federal court.
- Morrissey then taught law in Ireland until officials discovered his disbarment.
- Morrissey’s law license was revoked again in 2003 for failing to inform clients he had been suspended.
- The Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board rejected Morrissey’s bid for reinstatement in 2011, but the state’s Supreme Court reinstated him by a vote of 4-to-3.
- The lawmaker caused an uproar for brandishing an AK-47 rifle on the floor of the Virginia House of Delegates in 2013 while calling for tighter gun-control laws.
- During a press conference in July this year, Morrissey emphatically read a profanity-laced text message sent by his 17-year-old lover, a text which he claimed had been planted by a hacker, prompting a television station to interrupt its live coverage.
Democrats had to scramble to find a viable alternative candidate before a Dec. 23 filing deadline.
Republicans managed to field a candidate on short notice, but any GOP nominee would have been a long-shot in the Democratic district.
At the time, Virginia GOP spokesman Garren Shipley told WND: “It would be one of the more challenging districts that we would ever attempt to run in. I know the local committee is looking actively for a candidate now, but we have no illusions it would be an uphill climb. If I’m not mistaken, 78 percent of the district voted for President Obama.”
