Statement from Assemblyman Mike Duvall regarding his resignation from office today:
“I am deeply saddened that my inappropriate comments have become a major distraction for my colleagues in the Assembly, who are working hard on the very serious problems facing our state. I have come to the conclusion that it would not be fair to my family, my constituents or to my friends on both sides of the aisle to remain in office. Therefore, I have decided to resign my office, effective immediately, so that the Assembly can get back to work."
The statement is now available on Mike Duvall’s website here.
We don’t do this often, but we thought we would toot our horn as we broke this resignation before any main stream media source — television, newspaper, radio… YEAH!
UPDATE: A funny aside, right after Duvall resigned, I got an email from Ken Mettler, President of the California Republican Assembly, calling on Duvall to resign. Sorry, Ken, this guy went down in record speed…
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Blog Posts.
September 9th, 2009 at 12:00 am
This story is a testament to the power of the new media/internet.
September 9th, 2009 at 12:00 am
I cannot believe how fast that happened. Wikipedia has even updated about the affair and resignation already (1:32PM). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_D._Duvall
September 9th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Record speed indeed!
Message to all Legislators: Do the peoples work and stop doing a hanky panky in Sacramento!
September 9th, 2009 at 12:00 am
It’s a sad day for all the causes we all care about. One positive note is that when GOP lawmakers are caught in ethics issues, their fellow GOPers force them to step down, unlike the Democrats who not only leave them in office, but let them keep their leadership positions.
September 9th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Yeah, Sara, tell that to Republican U.S. Senators Vitter and Ensign who are very much in their positions despite hanging out with prostitutes and having affairs. Good “family values” Republicans, just like Mr. Duvall.
It’s bad enough doing what he did, but then to stand on the floor of the Legislature and preach family values…well, that’s beyond the pale.
September 9th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Sara, I appreciate what you are saying, but I have to disagree. This incident was recorded in July, two months ago. Duvall cavorting with a lobbyist was clearly an ethics issue, but the guy (not sure who it was) that Duvall was regaling with his escapades apparently didn’t report it. Either that or the leadership ignored his report.
The OC Weekly quotes sources that say Duvall’s affair was an open secret in Sacramento. Apparently Duvall exercised little discretion yet it appears no one took him aside and read him the riot act. The calls to resign didn’t come in until the video was public.
Look at the list – Ensign, Vitter, Sanford – none of them have resigned. We have to stop making excuses for our guys. We can do better than this. Obviously we shouldn’t support the hypocrites, but we also have to stop making excuses for the coddlers and enablers.
September 9th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Mr. Maviglio:
Mel Reynolds, Eliot Spitzer, Gerry Studds, Jim McGreevy,
Gavin Newsome, Ted Kennedy, Marion Barry, etc, etc. etc.
September 9th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Better check your history: Gov. McGreevy resigned, Mel Reynolds resigned, Elliot Spitzer resigned, Marion Barry went to prison.
But I’m not sure what your point is. My comment was that Republicans aren’t holier than thou on this. And it’s worse when someone says one thing and does another. In this case, Mr. Duvall railed against the very thing he’s guilty of.
Sara argued otherwise and somehow tried to say that disgraced Republicans are better than disgraced Democrats. I disagreed.
September 9th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Maybe let’s stop electing friggin’ Bible thumper types that supposedly ride on the shoulders of God.
Bibles are for propping up the corner of your sofa, not politics.
We need to get the religion out of SoCal Repub. politics and find candidates that focus on gun rights and tax cuts.
Bill Wiese
San Jose CA
September 10th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Pointing fingers at Reps or Dems in this mess is silly. Both sides are filled with philanderers. IMO it has more to do with powerful men having access to women who are enamored with the power, doesn’t matter which side they are on.
September 10th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Congratulations to Mr. Wiese for summarizing 2,000 years of anti-Christian
persecution into 3 ignorant sentences.
September 11th, 2009 at 12:00 am
James…
I’n not that anti-Christian,
it’s just that the “Religious Right” has proved they can’t win statewide elections in CA – and when individuals like Duvall tout ‘family values’ and then stumble, they fall from a far higher level and the hypocrisy makes for news for a lot longer than, say, Ted Kennedy’s latest philanderings (if he were still alive, but you get the idea).
If this were Tennessee and Thumpers could win and defend my gunrights and tax cuts, fine. But you have a far more educated population in CA who’s scared of religion in politics, esp with Thumpers promoting Creationismm, and with their absolutely election-losing stance on abortion.
James, it’s about winning. It’s time to put your fundamentalist Christianity aside, at least in the political realm – or you are de facto supporting gun control and tax increases.
Bill Wiese
San Jose
September 11th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Your posts are a constant Drum-beat of intolerance to both Christians
and Jews who believe in the Bible…. repeatedly telling us to Shut Up.
There are over TWO BILLION of us in the world… we are not going to
Shut Up.
Roman Emperors like Nero , and Diocletian did not silence us, and
neither are you. Clear ?
September 11th, 2009 at 12:00 am
James,
>There are over TWO BILLION of us
>in the world… we are not going
>to Shut Up.
I don’t care about rest of world, just CA. Expect higher taxes and gun control (the only two issues I care about) – because you are killing Republican electability in CA.
Period. The majority of Californians run screaming from your beliefs, and it ends up harming me because your ilk are unelectable on a statewide basis.
Bill Wiese
San Jose CA
September 13th, 2009 at 12:00 am
You should care about the whole world, because that’s where the Internet goes,
you know, and your ignorant remarks about using the Bible to prop up a Sofa
can be read anywhere…. in the World.
Your political posture in many posts here seems to be that Christians, Jews
and other Believers should shut up about elections. So Can YOU name a
candidate, Mr. Wiese, who has won ANY office anywhere in California on
YOUR platform?
Religious Republicans and Democrats have won hundreds of statewide
elections in California. Has your team ever won any?
September 13th, 2009 at 12:00 am
James,
Please show me one Bilble Thumper that has won a statewide office of significance in CA in the last decade.
It’s one thing to win a a protected legislative seat in a provinicial area.
And please tell me why your stance has not allowed a near 2/3 majority for Dems. But in suburbuan areas where there’s a high proportion of upper income educated professionals, there’s been a mass fleeing of support for Rs to Ds. These areas used to be ‘owned’ by Rs. Much of this shift has to do with R’s shrillness on matters of choice and anti-gay sentiment.
Personally I am antiabortion. I just know it’s a losing issue in CA. In many areas of CA I could run a candidate to election succes with a bag of dead babies and a bag of guns, than I could an antigun candidate that was antichoice. Look at Danny Lungren’s stellar record as a perfect example.
Bill Wiese
San Jose CA
September 14th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Mr. Wiese:
(1) Would you care to define a “Bible Thumper”? Every California governor
from at least Pat Brown to the present day has been a Religious Believer
who swore their oath of office on a Bible.
(2) Do you still contend the ideal purpose of a Bible is to prop up a Sofa
with an uneven leg?
(3) Why do you maintain that Christians and Jews should shut up about
election issues?
Take your time… and remember, this Internet thing goes all around the
World.
September 14th, 2009 at 12:00 am
James,
I know a bit more about the internet than you do. And I have no fear of worldwide dispersion of my views. I also doubt that the ‘world’ cares to read a small blog about a small segment of a party often dominated by Orange County wackos.
And if perchance you are offering a veiled threat that some Thumper could come after me, I have far better gun skills than he does and he’ll get a chance be introduced to
the hereafter that likely does not exist.
(1.) My definition of “Thumper” is one that takes religion so far in the extreme that it’s laughable: forcing Creationism or ‘intelligent design’ in schools as as a supposed alternative, or the “God hates fags” anti-LGBT types and who promote discrimination of these folks. Or the ones that think the abortion debate is winnable in CA.
Let’s assume, for the moment, these are actually ‘correct’ positions despite their unpopularity. Thus, should we continue to harp on these losing positions at the cost of not reforming and downsizing CA government, at the cost of higher taxes, at the cost of recovering our 2nd amedment freedoms outside the slower-paced courts?
The answer is no. The fact is, many people see CA R’ party’s religious bent is so bad they refuse to vote for the party even though they’re fundamentally conservative in the Important Issues- taxes, small gov’t, guns, etc. The slant of CA R party is in fact so reviled by the “educated suburban homeowning professional” – a demographic the R’s used to OWN – that this demographic is willing to pay higher taxes just to avoid the spectre of creationism in the schools, bashing of people with “differences”, etc.
Yes, Pat Brown and many others swore oaths on a Bible. It’s a perfunctory thing for many. Hell, if I were elected to office I’d probably do it just to get it over with and stop the yammering, although I really think it’d be more appropriate to swear on the Constitution, “…so help me James Madison”.
(2.) There are probably better devices than a Bible to prop up a sofa with an uneven leg. The thicker bibles, along with the Koran and Torah, might serve best be as wheel chocks for large trucks.
Sorry, I don’t have a lotta sympathy for orgainzed religion of any sort. “Smells like Taliban” to me.
(3.) I didn’t say all Christians & Jews should shut up about election issues. I said (or at least implied) the pushy evangelical types, whose positions are so far out of mainstream California poltics, are tainting the CA R party and making it unelectable.
Also, you’re “borrowing” the Jews. A fair fraction vote Democrat, are far less worried about ‘choice’, etc.
What I’m trying to do is separate “conservatism” from “religion”. We have a chance in CA to get the former if we can avoid, minimize, keep private, the latter. Why not win, for once?
– Abortion. NEVER will change in CA. Stop talking about it because all it does is MAKE R’s LOSE. In nonpartisan surveys, it always falls in the top 3 list of concerns of CA voters.
– Religion vs. school issues: everytime some loon local R talks about “alternatives to evolution” you get a huge buncha votes against you – maybe not in cow counties but certainly in Silicon Valley. We had one loon science teacher up here that tried to foist his ‘alternatives’ on his class and his arse was justifiably booted. Local R pols came to his defense and dug a further hole.
– LGBT: many Rs sound like they wanna put LGBT folks in a gas chanber if they don’t “convert”.
That really sells well in SF Bay Area, and other CA metro areas. It also alienates the parents/ families of these folks which is why it’s even further a losing issue.
Bottom line: you (religionists and their ilk) have reshaped the CA Republican party for the last 10-15 years into something that can never win a statewide seat, nor get over, say, 35% in the CA legislature. You and your ilk have thus allowed taxes to rise and more gun control laws to pass BECAUSE YOU (AND SIMILAR FOLKS) JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND HOW TO WIN.
Bill Wiese
San Jose CA