Colorado State Senate leaders on Saturday said they will remove Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis from her committee assignments in response to renewed allegations that she mistreated employees in her office, which also prompted the state’s legislative aide union to call for her resignation.
Senate leadership stripped Jaquez Lewis of her state-paid aides earlier this week after two staffers formally complained that they were instructed to do chores around her home and bartend at a party she hosted, according to reporting by the Colorado Sun.
Incoming Senate President James Coleman and Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez said in a statement that Jaquez Lewis’ “alleged behavior is in direct conflict with our core Democratic values of protecting workers’ rights and uplifting our workforce.”
Coleman and Rodriguez said they planned to remove the senator from her committees for the coming session, a rare step that essentially blocks her from a key piece of the legislative process. Jaquez Lewis currently serves on the Health and Human Services and the Housing and Local Government committees.
In an open letter to Senate leaders earlier Saturday, the Political Workers Guild of Colorado had demanded that Jaquez Lewis resign or be removed.
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