Craig Coughlin
Role at the time: Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly
Statement summary
Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin said that, following an independent investigation, Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell was right to resign. He said he supports Gov. Mikie Sherrill's commitment to hold public officials to the highest standards and her work to resolve the matter quickly.
“Following an independent investigation, Lieutenant Governor Dale Caldwell was right to resign from office today. We must ensure the work of governing is uninterrupted and that serving the people of New Jersey remains a top priority. I support Governor Sherrill’s commitment to hold public officials to the highest standards and her work to bring this matter to a swift resolution, enabling us to move forward in the best interests of the state.”
Why we used this label
The case asks whether Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell should resign after the investigation's findings and Gov. Sherrill's call for him to leave office. Coughlin did not describe the findings himself, but he said Caldwell was right to resign following the independent investigation and said he supports the Governor's work on the matter. That agrees with the call for Caldwell to leave office, so we labeled it Condemned.