resignation

BOSTON - State Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei said Wednesday that state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson's resignation will allow the Senate to move forward with its business and hinted that the Senate would have voted to expel her if she hadn't stepped down.

"It's a relief that Senator Wilkerson finally decided to resign today," Tisei, a Wakefield Republican, wrote on the Senate Republicans' blog. "Clearly, the fact that the Senate had voted unanimously to ask for her resignation showed that she has lost the support of her colleagues. I believe the Senate would have taken additional action had she not stepped down voluntarily."

Tisei said that Wilkerson, who faces charges of accepting $23,500 in bribes, violated a code of conduct among elected officials.

BOSTON - Moments after state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson's resignation letter was read in the Senate chamber Wednesday, state Senate President Therese Murray said the Senate is emerging from a trying time.

"The shadow is lifting, and in time, hopefully not too long from now, the good work of the Senate and our commitment to the people will once again be the focus of all inquiry and conversation," Murray, a Plymouth Democrat, said.

Wilkerson's resignation is the second to hit the Senate in less than a week. Jim Marzilli, an Arlington Democrat, stepped down last Friday  after details of a trip to Berlin, Germany, in October emerged. Marzilli is currently facing multiple counts of sexual harassment.

BOSTON -- Facing allegations that she accepted $23,500 in bribes, Dianne Wilkerson resigned from the state Senate Wednesday.

Senate President Therese Murray convened the Senate just afternoon noon on Tuesday and a letter from Wilkerson to Murray was read.

"Madam President, please accept this communication as formal notice of my intention to resign my position as the state senator of the 2nd Suffolk District...This resignation shall be effective today, Nov. 19, 2008."

UPDATED: Jim Marzilli's lawyer said Monday that the embattled state senator's resignation on Friday was completely independent from and will have no bearing on his legal proceedings.

"His resignation has nothing to do with legal case," Terrence Kennedy, Marzilli's lawyer, told PolitickerMA.com. "One has nothing to do with the other at all."

Marzilli, an Arlington Democrat, currently faces multiple counts of sexual harassment. His resignation on Friday came on the heels of details of an October trip to Berlin, Germany, for an environmental forum emerging.

BOSTON -- In addition to referring the allegations surrounding state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson to the Senate Ethics Committee, the state Senate also passed a unanimous resolution Thursday asking Wilkerson to resign immediately.

BOSTON - The state Senate referred the bribery allegations facing state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson to the Senate Ethics Committee.

The Senate also removed Wilkerson from her committee posts.