Video: California pol literally in bed with lobbyists; Update: Duvall resigns

Nothing says family values like sleeping with two lobbyists, neither of them your wife, and bragging about your sexual conquests at a California Assembly committee meeting. Michael Duvall (R), who represents conservative Orange County, not only is one of the most indiscreet politicians in recent memory, but he’s not too bright, either. The affairs came to light yesterday because Duvall bragged about them in front of a microphone that turned out to be live:

Freshmen legislators arriving in Sacramento receive advice from veteran politicians about the intricacies of working in California’s capital. One of those tips is to remember that microphones broadcasting legislative debates can also capture embarrassing, career-ending personal admissions if a politician isn’t careful. Michael D. Duvall, Orange County’s 72nd Assembly District representative, must have forgotten the warning.

In July–two days after Assembly Speaker Karen Bass and Republican leader Sam Blakeslee put Duvall on the Rules Committee that oversees member ethics–the second-term, conservative, Republican assemblyman sat in a public hearing and vividly described lewd details about his trysts with a female lobbyist whose clients had business before another committee on which Duvall sits.

How explicit did Duvall get with his colleague? Way past the “ick” stage, all the way to “summer-camp liar,” except it is apparently true:

“She wears little eye-patch underwear,” said Duvall, who is married with two children. “So, the other day she came here with her underwear, Thursday. And so, we had made love Wednesday–a lot! And so she’ll, she’s all, ‘I am going up and down the stairs, and you’re dripping out of me!’ So messy!” …

“So, I am getting into spanking her. Yeah, I like it. I like spanking her. She goes, ‘I know you like spanking me.’ I said, ‘Yeah! Because you’re such a bad girl!’” …

But Duvall wasn’t content to just share one adulterous tale at the July 8 committee hearing. He referenced a second, simultaneous affair with another woman. He seemed amused that he was cheating on both his wife and a mistress.

“Oh, yeah, Sher, Shar, Shar,” Duvall said. “Oh, she is hot! I talked to her yesterday. She goes, ‘So are we finished?’ I go, ‘No, we’re not finished.’ I go, ‘You know about the other one [Barsuglia], but she doesn’t know about you!’”

Good Lord.

The video above shows Dave Lopez of KCAL-9 (not KCBS, as the OC Register erroneously reported) chasing Duvall through the capital building in Sacramento. For a man who likes to share intimate details of his sexual conquests, Duvall got suddenly shy when he saw Lopez. I suspect he won’t be able to avoid his wife, and his other mistress, for that matter, with as much alacrity as Duvall shows here.

This is about as corrupt as it gets. Two lobbyists who do business with Duvall’s committees share sexual favors with a married man, who then brags about it to his buddies as though it’s no big deal. It’s corruption on both a personal and public scale. Duvall needs to go, regardless of which party he represents in the Assembly, if for no other reason than the basis of sheer stupidity in thinking that the microphone inches away from his mouth might not be live.

Addendum: As an aside, one of the most embarrassing tasks as a manager for me involved this kind of idiotic indiscretion in a call center. One of my female employees had a very audible conversation with a friend on the phone (on a recorded line, no less) with graphic descriptions of her sexual activities from the previous weekend, graphic descriptions of her own genitalia, and so on — for more than ten minutes. It’s difficult to understand what prompts people into these kinds of conversations, but they do occur, to the discomfort of everyone around them.

Update: I didn’t mean to play Name That Party, but Duvall is a Republican.  Sorry about that.

Update II:  Never has a man more needed to spend some time with his family:

I am deeply saddened that my inappropriate comments have become a major distraction for my colleagues in the Assembly, who are working hard on the very serious problems facing our state. I have come to the conclusion that it would not be fair to my family, my constituents or to my friends on both sides of the aisle to remain in office. Therefore, I have decided to resign my office, effective immediately, so that the Assembly can get back to work.

It wasn’t the comments that was inappropriate, Mr. Duvall.

Update III: The LA Times covers the story here.  One reader e-mailed me and asked the following question:

Is it not relevant and is it also not worthy to note in your Hot Air post that the CA Assembly-man whom Mike Duvall was speaking with should also be subject to an Ethics Committee investigation?

That’s not a bad point.  Duvall admitted to his colleague (er, bragged) in July that he was bedding lobbyists with business before his committee.  That should have prompted a report to the Assembly’s ethics committee immediately, not two months later after the media broke the story.  The other Assemblyman in that video should be facing an inquiry as well.

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