How not to use your e-mail

Dec. 31, 2007, 12:46AM

Harris County GOP asks Rosenthal to step aside; DA refuses

By ALAN BERNSTEIN
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal bluntly rejected the local Republican Party leadership's request Sunday night that he abandon his 2008 re-election campaign because of the scandal over personal e-mails he sent to his executive secretary on government computers.

"What part of 'no' don't you understand?" Rosenthal asked party chairman Jared Woodfill, according to County Judge Ed Emmett, who attended the emergency meeting.

After the four-hour, closed-door meeting that included questioning of Rosenthal, 15 members of the party's Advisory Committee voted unanimously to urge him to withdraw from the March 4 Republican primary for district attorney.

"The consensus was this is a position of high trust, and when this position is questioned, when this position is breached, we feel like it's important that we make a change," Woodfill said.

But Rosenthal, exiting the Greenway Plaza meeting about a half-hour before the it ended, said, "I'm going to run for district attorney and I am going to win."

He said he did not know if he will have an opponent in the Republican primary.

"I certainly hope not. I don't think they've got anybody with the qualifications to run against me," Rosenthal added.

But Woodfill said he is certain that one or more challengers will register before Wednesday's deadline. He said the party has been in touch with about 10 potential candidates, none of whom he'd name.

The party cannot remove Rosenthal's name from the ballot on its own.

The scandal arose last week when some of Rosenthal's e-mails surfaced in a federal lawsuit by two men who say they were abused by county sheriff's deputies because they videotaped deputies serving a warrant.

In several 2007 e-mails, Rosenthal declared his affection for his executive secretary, Kerry Stevens. Rosenthal is married. He acknowledged that he had an affair with Stevens years ago during his prior marriage and has denied that their romance has been rekindled.

Also, Rosenthal on Sunday night told Advisory Committee members that all of the controversial material in the e-mails has been disclosed and that no surprises remain, according to Emmett.

Emmett, the chief county government official, could be seen discussing the situation with Rosenthal in a side room while the party leaders continued their meeting. Rosenthal frequently raised his arms and gestured during his discussions with the county judge and the party chairman.

Emmett said the GOP activists made the right decision in calling for Rosenthal to step down.

"At this point he is damaged goods, and the party is reflecting that," Emmett said.

Woodfill, the party chairman, called the e-mails horrible and said Rosenthal had made a serious error in judgment.

In an e-mail to Stevens this year, Rosenthal wrote, "The very next time I see you I want to kiss you behind the right ear."

Political experts expect close races in the county for judgeships and other positions as demographic and political changes are expected to bring Democrats closer to breaking the GOP lock on county offices. Emmett is among those who is also on the 2008 ballot.

Rosenthal would find it difficult to be re-elected without the full support of his own party, Woodfill said, so "anyone (else) who chooses to run, we'll be talking to."

Former Houston Police Chief C.O. Bradford is seeking the Democratic nomination for district attorney.

Rosenthal, a graduate of the South Texas College of Law, became an assistant district attorney in 1977 and, after succeeding John B. Holmes Jr. as DA in 2001, was re-elected in 2004.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5412024.html

 

Doesn't it seem odd he would employ a secretary that he had an affair with (and pay her more than ADAs make) and continue to send inappropriate e-mail to on a government computer (e-mail)? One would think you would get away from her and stop sending e-mails.

Too much power.

 

Clinton was impeached.

Plus he's a Democrat. I thought Republicans believed in the sanctity of marriage yada yada.

 

You act like impeachment is nothing. How many presidents have been impeached? Two. Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. What do you mean nothing ever became of it? The Senate held a trial and failed to convict him. Even if he wasn't removed, he was humiliated and embarassed, and it will go down in history...as McLovin says pick up a book.

Rosenthal isn't facing anything like Clinton.

Does the GOP believe in family values or is that just talk?