Mary A. Morrissey

Last updated

Mary A. Morrissey
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives
Assumed office
January 8, 1997
Servingwith Jim Carroll
Personal details
Born
Mary Ann Morrissey

(1957-03-26) March 26, 1957 (age 68)
Bennington, Vermont, U.S.
Political party Republican
Residence
  • Bennington, Vermont

Mary Ann Morrissey (born March 26, 1957) is a Republican politician who was elected and currently serves in the Vermont House of Representatives. [1] She represents the Bennington 5 Representative District.

Contents

2024 harassment incident

For five months during 2024, Morrissey secretly poured cups of water into a tote bag owned by Democratic lawmaker Jim Carroll, who also represents Bennington and who serves with her on Vermont's House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development. [2] Carroll suspected Morrissey to be pouring water in his bag, but had no evidence to prove the theory. He then used a hidden video camera to record footage of his bag in order to find what was happening. [3]

On June 7, 2024, Carroll told Seven Days, an independent Vermont news publication, that he had captured footage of Morrissey pouring cups of water into his bag on two separate days. [2] On June 11, 2024, the footage was released. [2] Carroll has stated that Morrissey had been "nasty" to him for months [3] and that she had "verbally harassed" him on several occasions regarding his policy decisions. [4]

On June 17, Morrissey apologized in front of the Vermont House of Representatives. She did not state a motivation for her actions, and claimed, "I don't know why I did it. I was not meaning to hurt him ... It is something very out of character for me and I am ashamed." [5] As a result of the incident, a formal investigation was opened by the House's ethics panel. As of June 18, 2024, Carroll has not yet decided whether to pursue charges against Morrissey. [3]

References

  1. "List of Representatives in the Vermont House of Representatives from the state legislators database -- Adam Brown, BYU Political Science". adambrown.info. February 2011. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 McCallum, Kevin (June 7, 2024). "A Lawmaker's Bag Was Repeatedly Drenched, and Now a Colleague Faces a Probe". Seven Days . Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 Oladipo, Gloria (June 18, 2024). "Vermont Republican secretly poured water into colleague's bag over months". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  4. McCallum, Kevin (June 17, 2024). "Lawmaker Apologizes to House Colleague for Harassment". Seven Days . Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  5. McCallum, Kevin (June 12, 2024). "Lawmaker Offers an Apology, but No Explanation, for Soaking a Rival's Stuff". Seven Days . Retrieved June 18, 2024.