Stanley Rosenberg made the right decision Thursday in announcing his resignation from the Senate after a damning report by the Ethics Committee concluded that he demonstrated a “significant failure of judgment and leadership that … undermined the integrity of the Senate and had destructive consequences for the Senate and the people with business before it.”
While the Ethics Committee found that Rosenberg’s conduct did not violate any Senate rules, its 77-page report details a series of serious lapses in judgment by Rosenberg that clearly breached the trust he had with his Senate colleagues, as well as with his constituents who routinely have elected him to the Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester Senate District since 1991. As a result, Rosenberg lacked the credibility to remain as an effective legislator.
The report released Wednesday concluded that Rosenberg, D-Amherst, during his three years as Senate president did not enforce the promised “firewall” between his personal and professional lives, allowed his now-estranged husband, Bryon Hefner, “largely unfettered access to Senate information and to the people who worked in, or had business before the Senate,” and repeatedly failed to take appropriate action “to protect the Senate from his husband, whom he knew was disruptive, volatile and abusive.”
The Ethics Committee unanimously recommended that Rosenberg not return to the Senate presidency and be barred from any leadership position, including committee chairmanships, for the remainder of this year and the entire 2017-18 legislative session if he was re-elected in November.
Rosenberg cited those sanctions in the statement he released Thursday announcing his resignation that takes effect at 5 p.m. Friday.
“I had hoped that, with the conclusion of the investigation, I would be able to focus, once again, on representing my constituents and contributing meaningfully to the work of the Senate,” Rosenberg stated. “In light, however, of the disciplinary measures recommended by the Ethics Committee, it would not be fair to my constituents to have a representative in the Senate who lacked the authority to represent their interests fully.”
Investigators from the Boston law firm Hogan Lovells interviewed 45 witnesses and reviewed tens of thousands of pages of emails, texts and other documents in preparing its report for the Ethics Commission. Rosenberg and his staff cooperated with the investigation, and the senator met with investigators for about 11 hours.
In his statement, Rosenberg noted that “Hogan Lovells found no conduct by me that violated Senate rules or state ethics laws, no evidence that Bryon influenced my actions as Senate president, and no knowledge on my part of any alleged sexual advances, assaults or attempts by Bryon to influence other senators or staff.
“The report does, however, summarize statements from witnesses alleging that Bryon engaged in actions that harmed them and others and it finds fault with my not having done more to control Bryon’s access to information and to the people who worked in and around the Senate.”
Rosenberg said, “I deeply regret the difficulties that this situation has created for the members, the staff and the institution of the Senate.”
We commend Rosenberg for acknowledging that his failure to take proper action harmed not only his colleagues and co-workers but also the reputation of the Senate.
Investigators found that Rosenberg “blatantly violated the Senate IT Policy” by sharing his office password with Hefner, which gave him access to the president’s schedule and email, including confidential information. Investigators found that twice in January 2017 Hefner posed as Rosenberg in sending emails to a Senate staffer and an elected official. (None of the witnesses, victims or others involved in the investigation are named in the report.)
The Ethics Committee also concluded that Rosenberg did not enforce the Senate Anti-Harassment Policy because he failed “to adequately address what he knew of Hefner’s behavior.” According to the investigators, “Hefner brazenly engaged in both sexual and racial harassment of Senate employees.”
There is no evidence in the report that Rosenberg knew of the alleged sexual misconduct resulting in the criminal charges against Hefner. However, investigators stated that “Rosenberg told us he was well aware of Hefner’s inappropriate and unprofessional behavior toward members of his staff because he witnessed some of it.” That included Hefner texting nude photos of himself and other men, expressing “in graphic terms sexual interest in members of the Senate and Senate staff,” and making racist comments in person and by text to a member of Rosenberg’s staff.
Hefner, 30, pleaded not guilty April 24 in Suffolk Superior Court to 10 sexual misconduct charges, including sexual assault, criminal lewdness and distributing nude photos without consent.
Rosenberg, 68, met Hefner during the summer of 2008 when he served as an intern in the senator’s office. The two became romantic partners in September 2008, were married eight years later and separated shortly after Rosenberg stepped down from the Senate presidency in December.
In December 2014, a month before Rosenberg was elected Senate president, reports first surfaced about Hefner’s attempt to inject himself in Senate business and bragging about his influence over Rosenberg. That prompted Rosenberg to vow enforcement of “a firewall between my private life and the business of the Senate.”
While investigators found no evidence that Hefner had actually influenced Rosenberg’s actions in the Senate, the ethics committee concluded that “the promised firewall was in fact nonexistent … Indeed, the facts are clear that Hefner had continuous access to information concerning Senate business and that he repeatedly abused that access.”
The Ethics Committee report concluded, “That Senator Rosenberg and many others considered Hefner mentally ill and prone to alcohol abuse makes Senator Rosenberg’s decision to share Senate information with Hefner all the more unreasonable. … Senator Rosenberg stated that if he could not share Senate information with Hefner, he was left with two untenable choices — to divorce Hefner or quit his job.”
This is an unfortunate ending to a distinguished career in public service by Rosenberg, who has served since 1987 in the Legislature. There he gained a reputation for thoughtful, progressive governance, advocating for more spending on education and expanding programs that support the less fortunate people in the state. Rosenberg was the first openly gay legislator to lead the House or Senate in Massachusetts, and his approach to sharing leadership responsibilities as president was praised by his colleagues.
Rosenberg expressed contrition in his resignation announcement. “I have devoted nearly 40 years of my life to public service with over 25 years in the Senate, motivated always by the best interests of that body and my constituents. To the extent my efforts fell short, and most especially to all who have been affected by the events described in the Hogan Lovells report, I convey my sincere apology.”
We hope that apology is accepted by Rosenberg’s colleagues and constituents, and that they also recognize the many contributions he made in representing the people of Massachusetts.