New York state Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell will have to be retrained on the Assembly’s “Policy Prohibiting Harassment, Discrimination and Retaliation and what conduct constitutes a violation thereof” after he was found to be in violation of that policy, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie announced Wednesday.
Heastie said he made the decision based on a recommendation of the Assembly’s Committee on Ethics and Guidance.
The specific incident that prompted the sanction was not mentioned in either the recommendation from the Assembly committee or Heastie’s letter to O’Donnell announcing the decision, but O’Donnell had come under fire after he was seen on video provided to Spectrum News telling fellow Assembly member Catalina Cruz to “grow a pair” after a contentious meeting of the Assembly’s Codes Committee in May. Cruz immediately and visibly appeared upset, and said the comments were “not OK” immediately afterward.
Cruz recused herself from the Ethics and Guidance committee’s decision recommending the sanctions for O’Donnell.
In the letter sent to O’Donnell by Heastie, the speaker wrote that O’Donnell had to undergo the retraining “within 60 days from receipt of this letter.”
O'Donnell could not be immediately be reached for comment.