Idaho senator resigns under cloud

BOISE – Faced with sexual harassment allegations, Republican Sen. John McGee was given two choices: Quit or go before a state Senate ethics panel.

The 39-year-old, four-term lawmaker opted to resign Wednesday, capping a political free-fall that began last year with a Father’s Day drunken-driving and car-theft arrest.

His political demise came swiftly.

Senate President Pro Tem Brent Hill and Majority Leader Bart Davis were told of confidential allegations by a young woman on McGee’s staff on Saturday. On the counsel of other Senate employees, the woman on Monday delivered the allegations to Hill and Davis in person.

Hill, R-Rexburg, said he told McGee that if he didn’t step down he would face a protracted, potentially damaging Senate ethics panel investigation.

“My first priority is to ensure the safe, secure and professional work environment of the senate employees,” Hill said after meeting with the Senate GOP caucus. “My second priority is to protect the integrity of the institution.”

Hill did not share details of the allegations, but the Idaho attorney general’s office is investigating the claims. Hill also did not identify the accuser, saying he wanted to protect her privacy. The Senate aide was reassigned and allowed to take paid leave.

McGee, the fourth-ranking member of the chamber, submitted his resignation letter Wednesday morning but did not acknowledge any wrongdoing, Hill said.

McGee, who was absent from the Capitol on Wednesday, did not immediately return telephone messages.

“It’s been my pleasure and honor to serve the citizens of District 10 in the Idaho State Senate for the past eight years,” McGee said in his two-paragraph resignation letter.

Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter declined to comment on McGee’s departure.

McGee is also the chairman of the Canyon County Republican Party.

Idaho State Republican Party Director Jonathan Parker said Wednesday he hasn’t received a resignation letter for that post. Canyon County GOP vice chairman Steve Kren couldn’t be reached for comment.

McGee’s exit left senators from both parties shaking their heads in the basement hallway of the Capitol.

Minority Democrats said they were shocked.

“Whenever any of our members has this happen, it’s sobering,” said Michelle Stennett, D-Ketchum. “It’s a sad day for the Senate.”

McGee rose quickly and had been considered a candidate for higher elected office. His resignation would seem to put an end to any such aspirations.

The departure caps a disastrous run for McGee, who was arrested on June 19. McGee has said he began drinking at a Boise golf tournament and blacked out so he doesn’t remember the details of what happened next.

According to police, McGee took a Ford Excursion and cargo trailer from the southwest Boise home of a “complete stranger” and got it stuck in a yard. A breath test showed McGee’s blood-alcohol content at nearly twice the legal limit.

Last summer, McGee pleaded guilty to drunken driving in a deal that erased accompanying auto theft charges. He served jail time and paid restitution for a stranger’s vehicle that he damaged.

McGee’s reputation was further bruised over the summer when the Associated Press reported that despite having a home just 26 miles from the Capitol, he had been claiming a $122 per diem during the legislative session that adds up to some $6,000 annually. The money is meant to defray the cost of a second residence in Boise, but McGee was spending nights at his parents’ house in Boise.