With Tom Schedler's resignation, here's what's next for Secretary of State's Office

Embroiled in controversy over allegations that he sexually harassed an employee for several years, Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler will resign from office next week, putting to bed weeks of speculation about his political future.

"I leave the office with a heavy heart knowing I have disappointed the people in my life who care for me the most," Schedler wrote Tuesday in a resignation letter effective May 8. "But I have also experienced from them the miraculous power of forgiveness and grace during the twilight of my career, and for that I am grateful."

News of Schedler's resignation comes less than two months after he announced during a defiant news conference that he would not step down over a lawsuit claiming he harassed a woman in his office for more than a decade, sending her love letters and sex tapes then retaliating when she refused to go along with his repeated sexual propositions.

Schedler, a St. Tammany Parish Republican who previously served in the state Legislature, has faced mounting pressure to resign since The Advocate last week published sexually suggestive emails and messages that were part of his on-the-clock exchanges with employee Dawn Ross, who filed the lawsuit in February and has since come forward publicly.

Read more: http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/legislature/article_080dd09c-4d64-11e8-b27b-f3de42833c4c.html