Craigslist Congressman Resigns, Republicans Waste No Time By LEAH CRUSAN Staff Writer Published: Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Updated: Tuesday, February 15, 2011 21:02 Erie County Republican Chairman Nick Langworthy told local media sources that in terviews will be conducted on Sunday in Batavia to pick a replacement for Chris Lee, who resigned from his seat in the 26th Congressional District after a shirt less photograph of him surfaced in the media. Lee, 46 and married with one child, allegedly sent flirtatious e-mails and a shi rtless photograph of himself to a woman whom he met on the popular website Craig slist. Lee allegedly replied to a post by Yesha Callahan, 34, in the "Women Seek ing Men" section. "I assumed that other people have probably come across him as well, and he had l ied to them," Callahan said in an interview with The Washington Post. "I felt an noyance at just the audacity of people thinking that they're not going to get fo und out when they are lying." The statement was released after Lee allegedly lied to Callahan about his age, o ccupation, and marital status during their online correspondence. He allegedly t old Callahan that he was a 36-year-old divorced lobbyist. Within hours of the e-mail conversation and the photograph being released on Gaw ker's website, Lee resigned from the House of Representatives after two terms. H is resignation was abrupt, and reports reveal that Western New Yorkers heard abo ut the resignation before the scandal. Not once during his resignation did Lee admit either guilt or innocence. Lee mad e a statement in the House Chamber last Wednesday and posted it on his website. "It has been a tremendous honor to serve the people of Western New York," Lee sa id in a statement. "I regret the harm that my actions have caused my family, my staff and my constituents. I deeply and sincerely apologize to them all. I have made profound mistakes and I promise to work as hard as I can to seek their forg iveness." During Lee's two-year term, his constituency stretched from his district office in Williamsville, N.Y. to Rochester, N.Y. While in office, Lee served on the Hou se Committee on Financial Services. "The challenges we face in Western New York and across the country are too serio us for me to allow this distraction to continue, and so I am announcing that I h ave resigned my seat in Congress effective immediately," Lee said in his release d statement. UB students reacted to his resignation and Craigslist ad with disappointment and a bit of suspicion. "The people representing our country are held at a higher standard because they are supposed to be representative of us and focused on their job," said Kelly Ba rrett, a senior communication major. "There is a moral standard that should come with being a representative of a body of people. You should conduct yourself pr ofessionally, and people worry that politicians that act this way are too distra cted to do their jobs properly." Others speculated about how the scandal will affect Lee's future political caree r. "I think that this type of sex scandal is not career-ending, as Bill Clinton dem onstrated, but neither is a failing economy or two wars gone awry under [George W.] Bush," said Jordan Ghasemi, a senior political science major. "If you are pe rceived as having good economic impact, and your base is not of the devout relig ious persuasion, I don't see why this should be the end. However, I do feel that political leaders should set moral examples for the rest of us. If they lie to their spouses, how can we trust them?" Dr. James Campbell, chair of the department of political science, explained that Lee's decision is partly political and partly personal, but agrees with House S

peaker John Boehner that Lee made the right decision to resign. "My sense, though, is that there were significant personal background strains an d history that made the resignation the right thing to do," Campbell said. "In t erms of the politics, it would have been a rough year or so, but I think he coul d have survived, if this was all that was to the scandal. The photograph made th is rougher than it might have been otherwise. This made the sleazy aspect of thi s all too blatant for the public and the media." The abrupt resignation leaves an open House seat, which many people believe will remain with Republicans. However, Erie County Chairman Len Lenihan reported tha t Democrats plan on fighting for the seat. According to the Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, until the seat is occupied, the "vacant Co ngressional office cannot take or advocate positions of public policy." There has been speculation as to who will run for office, and some have argued t hat any candidate should be required to have the financial means to back his own campaign. Campbell weighed in on rumors of both Republican and Democratic candi dates fighting for the open seat. "The speculation is that the Democrats will nominate Erie County Clerk Kathy Hoc hul, and that Republicans will nominate Assemblywoman Jane Corwin of Clarence, b ut there are a number of others mentioned on both sides," Campbell said. "The di strict is likely to stay Republican, but open-seat elections are usually very co mpetitive." According to Campbell, a Democrat has not been elected in several years. He fore sees the national parties spending a lot of money on the special election. "The final note is that the district may be chopped up in the next two years bec ause of reapportionment," Campbell said. "New York State will lose a couple of d istricts because of its population count in the last census." A special election to fill Lee's seat will be scheduled after it is declared vac ant by Governor Andrew Cuomo. E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com http://www.ubspectrum.com/news/craigslist-congressman-resigns-republicans-wasteno-time-1.1997732