Also a “pop some corn” situation.
Two state lawmakers have called for the resignation of Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, after The Texas Tribune reported that he is being investigated after allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a Capitol intern.
“The past few days in the Texas House, screams of everything that’s wrong with a small segment of its elected officials. Unfortunately calling the behavior of @BryanForHD2 ‘inappropriate’ is a gross understatement,” state Rep. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands, wrote on social media Tuesday morning. “He needs to resign.”
Toth added in an interview Tuesday morning that Slaton’s alleged actions had humiliated his wife and said the representative needs to step down to take care of his family.
Toth, a staunch social conservative usually ideologically aligned with Slaton, is the second lawmaker to call for Slaton’s resignation. On Friday — before the allegations against Slaton were public — state Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, also condemned Slaton on Twitter without naming him.
“I am absolutely furious at a [R]epublican whom I believe to be a sexual predator,” Cain wrote on social media. “I’ve never been so ticked off at another legislator.”
Cain has since confirmed he was referring to Slaton.
On Tuesday at least one Democratic House member also piled on. Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos, D-Richardson, said she agreed with the calls for Slaton to step down.
“The young adults working in the Capitol are vulnerable and predators readily target these young people. We owe it to these young professionals to set the standard and protect them from harm,” she said in a tweet.
See here for the background. As I said, Slaton is one of the bigger assholes in the Lege. That said, the short list for Even Bigger Assholes Than Bryan Slaton definitely has Briscoe Cain and Steve Toth on it. There are no winners here, only losers.
I think Rep. Ramos is correct in her sentiments. One could express similar sentiments for the now-former staffers of Rep. Jolanda Jones if one wanted to. I think the allegations against Rep. Slaton are more serious, and much more likely to be the sort of thing that can lead to a resignation, than the allegations against Rep. Jones. I think the behavior alleged about Slaton is the sort of thing that usually doesn’t happen just once, to one person. That would definitely move this into “resignation needed” territory.
We don’t know a lot right now, about either incident. Both are being investigated, and then I hope they will be clearer. In the meantime, I’m happy to see a bunch of invective hurled at Bryan Slaton, who richly deserves it. The Dallas Observer has more.