Rep. Bob Hooper (D-Burlington) said he will resign after he was found to have violated the Vermont House rules regarding sexual harassment, according to the speaker’s chief of staff.
The veteran lawmaker this week relinquished his seat on the House Government Operations and Military Committee after an investigation by the House Sexual Harassment Prevention Panel.
He immediately faced calls to leave the legislature from individual lawmakers and his Democratic colleagues.
“I think he should resign,” said Rep. Kate Logan (P/D-Burlington). “He has made statements to me before that I would say are inappropriate.” They included remarks about her clothing and appearance, usually in an attempt to be complimentary, but in ways that are “just weird,” Logan said — such as writing “cute” on photos of her on her Facebook page, she said.
Logan did not file a formal complaint, however, she said.
House Speaker Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington) released a statement to members Friday confirming the action of the panel. Its work is generally confidential.
“The House of Representatives is committed to providing a professional work environment that’s free from sexual harassment, discrimination, or any hostile behavior,” she wrote. “It does not matter what party you belong to or what position you hold, we are all held to the same rules and expectations.”
Nearly all House Democrats released a statement calling for Hooper to resign.
“We commend the impacted member who filed the complaint. It was an extraordinarily courageous action to come forward,” their statement says. “The House Democratic caucus is committed to providing a professional work environment and has zero tolerance for sexual harassment, discrimination, or any hostile behavior. We call on Representative Robert Hooper to resign from the legislature immediately.”
Hooper could not be reached for comment and was not on the House floor late Friday morning.
Conor Kennedy, Krowinski’s chief of staff, told Seven Days that Hooper told him he planned to resign on Monday. The conversation was not definitive, however, as Hooper said he needed to talk to an attorney. Vermont Public reported Friday afternoon that Hooper told a reporter he planned to resign on Monday.
Kennedy said Krowinski was aware of additional complaints made by three other people against Hooper since 2021. It’s not clear how many went through the formal complaint process, but none resulted in a formal finding by the panel that its rules had been violated, Kennedy said. Kennedy had had no details about the nature of those complaints or how they were resolved.
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