After a former lobbyist accused him of sexual harassment, Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.), whose 23rd congressional district includes the West Valley Demonstration Project, will retire from the House of Representatives rather than run for re-election, the lawmaker announced via Twitter on Sunday.
Reed further said he will not seek any political office in 2022. The congressman’s name has circulated as a possible Republican challenger for incumbent Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) who is also embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal. Reed said in the post that when first elected to the House in 2010, he pledged not to serve more than six two-year terms in the chamber.
In a March 19 Washington Post article, Nicolette Davis, a then-25-year-old insurance company lobbyist, said a drunken Reed engaged in unwanted touching by rubbing her back and unhooking her bra while at an Irish Pub during 2017.
“First, I apologize to Nicolette Davis,” Reed said, adding he heard of the allegations in the newspaper article. “Simply put, my behavior caused her pain, showed her disrespect and was unprofessional. I was wrong, I am sorry, and I take full responsibility.” The lawmaker also apologized to his wife and family and the people in his district.
Reed said the episode occurred around the time “I recognized that I am powerless over alcohol,” and began recovery, but added this does not excuse his behavior.
The Buffalo News reported this week that a Republican in the region, Michael Caputo, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services during the Trump Administration, has asked the House Ethics Committee to investigate the sexual misconduct allegations against Reed. A spokesman for the panel declined comment on any potential investigation when reached by phone by Weapons Complex Monitor Thursday.
Chemung County Executive Chris Moss, a Republican, is considering a run for Reed’s seat in 2022, the Elmira Star Gazette newspaper reported this week.
In December 2019, West Valley reauthorization legislation authored by Reed won Senate approval via unanimous consent after having already passed the House, and was subsequently signed into law by then-President Donald Trump. The bill targets a $75-million floor for funding of the cleanup of the site that was home to a commercial nuclear fuel reprocessing plant.
The Department of Energy is in charge of remediating the site and the federal government provides 90% of the funding. The bill also ordered a Government Accountability Office study into disposal paths for certain waste now stranded at West Valley.
