New Jersey Democratic Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell resigned Friday after an internal investigation found that he sexually harassed a female staffer and violated state ethics rules on multiple occasions, dealing an early blow to Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s administration.
Caldwell, who had been in office for only eight months, submitted his resignation Friday afternoon after Sherrill demanded that he step down by the end of the day. Sherrill announced the resignation at a news conference in Trenton.
“The investigation found that the Lieutenant Governor engaged in serious, repeated violations of state policy and failed to uphold the responsibilities of his office,” Sherrill said Thursday when she released the investigation. She said the probe substantiated a finding of sexual harassment and the violations persisted despite multiple warnings and ethics trainings.
The investigation, conducted by the law firm Lowenstein Sandler at the direction of the governor’s Chief Ethics Officer, examined allegations that emerged from an anonymous complaint received in May. Investigators interviewed witnesses, reviewed documents, and interviewed Caldwell himself.
Investigators found that Caldwell mad...