Massachusetts State Senator Stan Rosenberg is resigning effective 5 p.m. Friday. The Amherst Democrat and former Senate president has been under fire since his estranged husband was accused of sexual harassment last year.
Bryon Hefner has pleaded not guilty to charges including assault and battery. The 68-year-old Rosenberg, the state Senate’s first openly gay leader, stepped down as president in December after the allegations against Hefner surfaced.
Governor Charlie Baker, a Republican, and state Attorney General Maura Healey, a Democrat, called on Rosenberg to resign Wednesday after a Senate Ethics Committee report laid out a pattern of alleged misconduct by Hefner and interference in Senate business.
In a letter sent Thursday, Rosenberg said he would resign from his seat at 5 p.m. Friday.
The letter was delivered as senators were holding a closed-door caucus to discuss the ethics report, which cited lapses of judgment and leadership, including allowing Hefner to access Rosenberg's Senate email account.
Rosenberg has been in the Senate since 1991, serving as president from 2015 to 2017.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
