A frustrated House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz has asked his legal counsel to research options including discipline or expulsion of Rep. Angel Arce from the state legislature — now that Arce has failed to deliver on his March 7 statement that he would resign amid a scandal over texts to a 16-year-old girl in 2015.
“It has been over a week since Representative Arce informed House leadership of his intention to resign from the legislature,” Aresimowicz’s press secretary, Larry Perosino, said Thursday in an emailed reply to a Courant question about the delay in Arce’s professed plan to quit.
“So yes, the Speaker is frustrated there has been no official resignation submitted to the Secretary of the State to this point,” Perosino said. “In fact, Representative Arce’s attorney told us last week a resignation letter was forthcoming.”
Now, Perosino said, Aresimowicz has asked staff counsel James Spallone “to research disciplinary and expulsion options and procedures that are available” — although “no specific timeline has been established.”
Arce and his lawyer, Jeffrey Kestenband of Glastonbury, could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.
Aresimowicz’s options as to potential discipline or expulsion for Arce may be limited, because, in general, once a candidate is elected by voters, he can’t be fired by his legislative superiors. However, the fact that the speaker even felt moved to say he’s looking at those options escalates this political standoff.
Meanwhile, with no resignation submitted, Arce remains on the state payroll — still collecting his $36,741 annual legislator’s salary.
Arce was a nonparticipant this past Monday in one of the biggest House votes this year — approval by…..
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