Connecticut state Rep. Ernest Hewett (D-New London) has been stripped of his position as deputy speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives after audio surfaced of him apparently making a suggestive remark to a young woman during a committee hearing.
In an appropriations committee hearing on the Connecticut Science Center on Feb. 20, a 17-year-old high school senior spoke about how the center helped her overcome her fear of snakes.
"I was able to teach those children about certain things, like the snakes that we have and the turtles that we have. ... I want to do something toward that, working with children when I get older," she said, according to the New London Day.
"I never liked snakes, but I started loving them, they're my best friends," she added, referring to how she likes to see other people also overcome their fear of snakes.
"If you're bashful, I got a snake sitting under my desk here," said Hewett, and the committee laughed.
Hewett told The Day that the remark came out wrong. "What I meant to say was, 'If you are shy, then I have an acre of land in the Everglades.'"
Hewett will lose an extra $6,446 above his $28,000 base pay.
Hewett apologized for the remark, and the girl accepted it, according to the AP.
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