Stewart-Cousins: Resign

Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers, will serve on the special committee set up by Senate Democrats to investigate what action could be taken against Sen. Hiram Monserrate, D-Queens, who was found guilty last week of a misdemeanor assault charge involving his girlfriend.

Stewart-Cousins said calls for Monserrate to resign are “appropriate.”

For Monserrate to resign, she said, “I think somebody said it would be a noble thing to do, and I would certainly would hope that he would consider that.”

But she said her own opinion would not influence her role on the panel, which Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson, D-Brooklyn, will announce today at 3 p.m. She said the panel cannot explore his resignation, only what steps the Senate could take against him.

“I think that there is a standard according to the Senate laws that requires a formation of a panel like this in order to explore a range of options in regards to a member,” she said.

“What I will be doing with my colleagues is creating those standards and trying come up with fair and objective ways to assess how members in these types of circumstances are ultimately treated.”