Mary A. Morrissey

Mary A. Morrissey
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from the Bennington 5 district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 4, 2023 Serving with Jim Carroll
Preceded by	None (district created)
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from the Bennington 2-2 district
In office January 8, 2003 – January 4, 2023
Preceded by	Betty Bolognani
Succeeded by	None (district eliminated)
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from the Bennington 2-3 district
In office January 8, 1997 – January 8, 2003
Preceded by	Mary Madkour
Succeeded by	None (district eliminated)
Personal details
Born	Mary Ann Morrissey (1957-03-26) March 26, 1957 (age 67) Bennington, Vermont, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Residence(s)	Bennington, Vermont, U.S.

Mary Ann Morrissey (born March 26, 1957) is a Republican politician who was elected and currently serves in the Vermont House of Representatives.[1] She represents the Bennington 5 Representative District.

2024 harassment incident

For five months during 2024, Morrissey secretly poured cups of water into a tote bag owned by Democratic lawmaker Jim Carroll, who also represents Bennington and who serves with her on Vermont's House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development.[2] Carroll suspected Morrissey to be pouring water in his bag, but had no evidence to prove the theory. He then used a hidden video camera to record footage of his bag in order to find what was happening.[3]

On June 7, 2024, Carroll told Seven Days, an independent Vermont news publication, that he had captured footage of Morrissey pouring cups of water into his bag on two separate days.[2] On June 11, 2024, the footage was released.[2] Carroll has stated that Morrissey had been "nasty" to him for months[3] and that she had "verbally harassed" him on several occasions regarding his policy decisions.[4]

On June 17, Morrissey apologized in front of the Vermont House of Representatives. She did not state a motivation for her actions, and claimed, "I don't know why I did it. I was not meaning to hurt him ... It is something very out of character for me and I am ashamed."[5] As a result of the incident, a formal investigation was opened by the House's ethics panel. As of June 18, 2024, Carroll has not yet decided whether to pursue charges against Morrissey.[3]

References

1. "List of Representatives in the Vermont House of Representatives from the state legislators database -- Adam Brown, BYU Political Science". adambrown.info. February 2011. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
2. McCallum, Kevin (June 7, 2024). "A Lawmaker's Bag Was Repeatedly Drenched, and Now a Colleague Faces a Probe". Seven Days. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
3. Oladipo, Gloria (June 18, 2024). "Vermont Republican secretly poured water into colleague's bag over months". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
4. McCallum, Kevin (June 17, 2024). "Lawmaker Apologizes to House Colleague for Harassment". Seven Days. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
5. McCallum, Kevin (June 12, 2024). "Lawmaker Offers an Apology, but No Explanation, for Soaking a Rival's Stuff". Seven Days. Retrieved June 18, 2024.

External links

• Profile at Vote Smart