A few more legislators weighed in yesterday on the controversy that continues to swirl around Daylin Leach.
They had a message for the state senator:
#TimesUP!
And yes, the editor in me winces every time I look at that and realize it is missing an apostrophe.
At a Harrisburg press conference at which state Rep. Margo Davidson, D-164 of Upper Darby, rolled out two more pieces of legislation targeting harassment in the workplace, a couple of her fellow officials took the opportunity to once again call on Leach to resign.
He's been the target of a series of women who allege in appropriate behavior on his part, a claim Leach has steadfastly denied.
The senator, who represents parts of Delaware and Montgomery counties, actually says an investigation into the allegations against him done by Senate Democratic leadership clears him of any wrongdoing. He bases that on a Powerpoint presentation of preliminary findings. The complete report has not yet been made public.
State Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa doesn't see it that way. He says that while preliminary, the report shows "A lengthy pattern of troubling behavior spanning several years regarding Sen. Leach's interactions with a number of women."
Leach didn't shy away from his own version of what went down.
He wanted Costa to release the report and decided to do it on its own. He says Costa told him the report exonerated him, but suggested a lot of people who were quick to ask Leach to resign are now not happy with the findings. Costa said all this is preliminary and the group is still waiting for a final report.
Leach is not a choirboy. He admits some of this behavior - a decade ago - likely was ill-advised and has vowed to do better. He also filed a defamation lawsuit against several women who commented on the accusations against him. Probably not a great idea, since many people look at that as a way to intimidate people and shut them up.
Leach is undeterred.
"The report said I told ill-advised jokes 11 years ago, before I was a senator," Leach said. "The report explicitly says that I've never done anything that was harassing or predatory of discriminatory or illegal or a violation of Senate rules."
#TimesUP is the hashtag put on this legislation yesterday.
Clearly, the time is not up for the debate surrounding Sen. Leach.
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