State Rep. Ernest Hewett (D-CT) was stripped of his leadership position as Deputy Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives this week after he was caught on tape making an inappropriate remark to a high school student testifying before a legislative committee.
The 17 year-old student was at the hearing to ask the committee to continue a funding to the Connecticut Science Center, where she said she was “usually a very shy person” but the Center’s program enabled her to teach “children about certain things like snakes.”
When she was done testifying, Hewett told the teen “[i]f you’re bashful I got a snake sitting under my desk here.” Listen:
Hewett offered an odd explanation for his remark on Thursday, claiming that he meant to say “if you are shy then I have an acre of land in the Everglades.” He did, however, apologize for his comment.
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