O.C. Assemblyman Duvall resigns amid recorded sexual comments
September 9, 2009 | 1:08 pm Orange County Assemblyman Michael Duvall, who was caught on an open mike making sexual comments, resigned today.
"I am deeply saddened that my inappropriate comments have become a major distraction for my colleagues in the Assembly, who are working hard on the very serious problems facing our state," he said in a statement posted on his website. "I have come to the conclusion that it would not be fair to my family, my constituents or to my friends on both sides of the aisle to remain in office. Therefore, I have decided to resign my office, effective immediately, so that the Assembly can get back to work."
Capitol Blackberries are buzzing after KCAL-TV Los Angeles late Tuesday night aired a videotape of the Orange County GOP lawmaker talking to a colleague at a committee hearing in explicit detail about recent trysts.
In the KCAL report, Duvall (R-Yorba Linda), the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee vice chairman, appears not to realize that his microphone is on during a lull in a July committee hearing and talks about his conquest of two women.
Reporter Dave Lopez then reports that Duvall says on the tape that the women with whom he has been having sex are lobbyists.
The report alleges that one of the lobbyists works for a utility with business before Duvall's committee but does not name her.
Later in the report, Duvall is seen ducking Lopez on the Assembly floor and in the hallways outside the chamber as the reporter confronts him with questions about his sexual encounters.
The Assembly Legislative Ethics Committee is looking into the reports about Duvall's alleged relationship with the lobbyist, a source close to the committee said this morning.
Members of the ethics panel plan to meet today with their legal counsel to determine what action they might take, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity for lack of authority to speak for the committee.
"They are taking this very seriously," the source said.
Meanwhile, Duvall posted this apology on his campaign website: "I made a mistake and I sincerely apologize. I deeply regret the comments I made in what I believed to be a private conversation. This is a private matter and I ask that everyone respect the privacy of all involved."
Duvall joined the Assembly in 2006, representing the 72nd District, which includes the cities of Fullerton, Anaheim, Placentia, Orange, Brea, Yorba Linda and La Habra.
He is a former Yorba Linda City Councilman and member of the Orange County Sanitation District board and Orange County Transportation Authority. According to his Assembly website, he also runs an insurance business with his wife.
-- Evan Halper in Sacramento