8/9/2019 Assemblyman William Scarborough Press Statement

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ASSEMBLYMAN WILLIAM SCARBOROUGH

APRIL 28, 2015

ALBANY, NY 

As you have heard, I am resigning my position as Assemblyman for the29th Assembly District. I will also be accepting a plea to charges relating tomy submitting false travel vouchers to the Assembly. I did in fact claim to bein Albany at times when I was not there or I would claim to have stayedlonger than I actually did. As a result I will be stepping down from the jobthat I love, and I will face whatever sanctions the court imposes at the propertime.

I want to apologize to my family, my colleagues, my sta, mycommunity and those who believed in me, and whom I misled as this issue

unfolded. It is not easy to admit that you have engaged in improperbehavior and have fallen short of the standards that were e!pected of you ina responsible position. "here is no e!cuse for my actions and I can only ta#eresponsibility for them and whatever conse$uences come as a result.

 "here were factors that I used to justify my actions to myself, but I seethem clearly as rationalizations. During the time frame of the charges, Ifaced severe %nancial problems. &oney had always been tight but sharplyincreased e!penses created a %nancial crisis. I too# on a second job at acollege, but still found myself unable to #eep up with my bills. &y pridewould not let me admit even to my family that I could not be the provider

that they thought I was so I made a terrible choice ' to ta#e advantage of atravel system where you simply said you were in Albany and werereimbursed, basically with no $uestions as#ed.

Although I loved my job, I was also angry about certain things which Ifelt related directly to my %nancial situation. "he legislature has not had araise in salary in () years and has had one raise in 2* years. +henever theissue of a salary increase was brought up we were told that our job waspart'time-, because we were only in session in Albany for si! months out ofthe year. I found this particularly oensive because when I was not inAlbany, I spent my days, most evenings and most wee#ends meeting my

constituents or attending their events in my district. "wo'"hirds of thelegislature reports either no outside income, or less than 2/,/// in outsideincome, but the e!ample of the relative few with large outside incomes wasused as a club to beat bac# any suggestion that the vast majority needed ordeserved an increase.

0egardless, I clearly understand that there was no e!cuse for myactions, and the blame rests solely with me. &any of my colleagues felt the

8/9/2019 Assemblyman William Scarborough Press Statement

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same frustration with the salary situation as I did, but they did not act as Idid. &any people ma#ing less that I do have suered %nancial crises, andthey have not acted as I did. 1or that, I can only ta#e responsibility for myactions, apologize to all those that I have let down and hope they can %nd itin their hearts to forgive me at some point.