Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Politics/National
Editor's PicksNationalPolitics

Conn. Rep. Ernest Hewett Again in Hot Water Over Lewd Remark

Posted byBy Kevin Webb | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

Already stripped of his title as deputy speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives, state Rep. Ernest Hewett (D-New London) continues to place himself into further controversy.

Hewett lost the position over offensive remarks made to a 17-year-old high school student during a committee hearing for the Connecticut Science Center’s youth programs. After the teenager described how working with the center helped her overcome her fear of snakes, Hewett told her, “If you’re bashful, I got a snake sitting under my desk here.”

The awkward and offensive moment was captured on audiotape, along with laughter from the committee. Hewett’s fellow representatives called his comment sexual harassment, and stripped him of his title Thursday, more than a week after the Feb. 20 hearing.

He has since apologized to the girl, but Republican state House members are calling for his resignation, citing a history of similar behavior.

“Rep. Hewett has a little bit of history of saying things … it’s not the first time I’ve seen his behavior raise some doubts in my mind about what his thinking was,” Rep. Arthur O’Neill (R-Southbury) told the Hartford Courant.

Hewett refused to resign, and denied having a history of similar behavior or problems. However, while speaking with the Courant he did reveal a preference towards male interns, suggesting that his professionalism around women is questionable.

“I purposely will not have female interns. My intern now is a male. I want to keep it like that. I’ve had female interns in the past that sit in my office all day. I thought it was totally weird and I didn’t want another,” Hewett said.

When asked if he chose to only have male interns, he said that it wasn’t his choice.

“They may give me a female, but I don’t want a female intern,” he continued. “That may sound sexist but I really don’t. That way that keeps me good and that keeps everybody else good.”

Defending a sexist statement made in public by describing a potentially sexist professional practice, will likely land Hewett in even further trouble with state representatives and voters.

Hewett has served as one of New London’s representatives since 2003 and was re-elected last year.

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top