U.S. Senator Jack Reed says that House Speaker John Harwood's explanation of the Wendy Collins controversy is "not persuasive or compelling." Appearing today on the WJAR-TV show "10 News Conference" with Jim Taricani and Bill Rappleye, Reed said that Harwood has an obligation to explain the situation to voters. However, so far, Reed is not persuased by the explanation.
Reed stopped short of calling for Harwood's resignation, as has been voiced by other leading state politicians. But he predicted that "the system will work". Reed noted that there are procedures in place to deal with these kinds of situations. Harwood faces an election in November and then must go before House colleagues in January for re-election as Speaker.
Senator Reed drew a comparison with the ethics controversies surrounding New Jersey Senator Robert Toricelli. After a strong ethics committee report criticizing Toricelli, the senator was forced to pull out of his re-election bid. Reed was a member of the ethics committee that drafted the report.
