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CELORON – Congressman Tom Reed says he remembers the night in which he is accused of sexual misconduct, and the aftermath of the incident as well as its revelation to the public.
Reed discussed the event, referring it only as an “incident,” when asked about his political future during a Congressional luncheon at the Chautauqua Harbor Hotel Thursday afternoon. The Corning Republican explains how he wanted to put ethics ahead of his political goals when dealing with the fallout.
“As we were dealing with the issue of do we continue to run for governor and that type of thing when it went down,” Reed said. “The bottom line was, my integrity and my sobriety was too important to me to go back to the world that would’ve lead me to if I would’ve followed the political advice of the folks that said you need to run for governor (of New York State). We just do the typical political position of, “deny, deny, deny.”
Reed says he doesn’t remember the specifics of that night, other than he being in an intoxicated state. However, he explains that evening and weekend played a crucial role in focusing on his recovery.
“I accept it and take full responsibility for that,” Reed said. “And I think that’s armed me to be a better member (of the House) for the last four-and-a-half years that we’ve been past that, and it’s also made me a better human being, and it’s made me realize what is truly the top priorities in life. That’s family, that’s friends and that’s doing the best with the mutual level of work that has your term on it.”
Reed, in a statement in March, explained that he would not run for a seventh term in Congress, consistent with his previous claims that he would not serve more than six terms in Congress. The current House member, however, would not rule out a Governor bid in 2022.
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