This senator must go
STATE SENATOR Dianne Wilkerson had already lost the Democratic primary for her seat. But in the aftermath of her arrest Monday on bribery charges, the longtime senator has now been stripped of all her committee assignments. More crucially, she has also lost the confidence of the entire Senate, which in a unanimous vote yesterday called upon her to resign immediately.
Wilkerson should abide by the Senate's wishes and give up her office. If she does not, the Senate should remove her.
The embattled lawmaker's plans were unclear yesterday evening. While she told Senate President Therese Murray in a letter before the vote that she would abide by the chamber's wishes, Wilkerson had also vowed the day before to continue with her sticker campaign to retain her Senate seat.
As a matter of criminal law, Wilkerson is innocent until proven guilty. But even if there is some noncriminal explanation for the photographs of Wilkerson accepting cash in an FBI bribery investigation, and for other evidence in the case, there is no harmless explanation. She has lost all credibility as a lawmaker, and she has forfeited her moral right to serve as an elected official.
This is not Wilkerson's first brush with the law, as yesterday's Senate resolution notes. Perhaps she could argue that her tax problems did not affect her official duties, and that her campaign-finance violations did not affect her constituents. The bribery case is far more serious. It appears all too likely that Wilkerson made decisions about businesses and development in a poor section of her district for her own financial gain.
Wilkerson should drop her reelection bid, resign her seat, and concentrate on her own legal troubles. 