[audio:http://wjnoblog.com/wp-content/congressmanfiresmistress.mp3]

West Palm Beach Congressman Tim Mahoney (D-FL), whose predecessor resigned in the wake of a sex scandal, agreed to a $121,000 payment to a former mistress who worked on his staff and was threatening to sue him, according to current and former members of his staff who have been briefed on the settlement, which involved Mahoney and his campaign committee.

The affair between Congressman Tim Mahoney and Patricia Allen began, according to current and former staffers, in 2006 when Mahoney was campaigning for Congress against Foley, promising “a world that is safer, more moral.”

A Mahoney spokesperson would not answer questions about the alleged affair or the settlement, but said Allen resigned of her own accord and “has not received any special payment from campaign funds.”

Senior Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives, including Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), the chair of the Democratic Caucus, have been working with Mahoney to keep the matter from hurting his re-election campaign, the Mahoney staffers said.

So much for that whole ‘moral’ argument, huh? Tim Mahoney is only one of the many local politicians that are beyond corrupt and incapable of managing their massive egos. I wonder if he ever brought his mistress back to that horse barn of his? It’s time for Mahoney to follow in Mark Foley’s footsteps and bow out quickly — it will save his family the stress of hashing this drama out in public and save his consituents from any more of his ‘personal’ issues. At this point, we might all be better off if they just burnt that particular seat in the House and moved on.

So, what do you think folks, should Mahoney resign?

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi chimes in…:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi today issued the following statement on Congressman Tim Mahoney of Florida:

“I just learned today about the serious allegations concerning Congressman Tim Mahoney. These charges must be immediately and thoroughly investigated by the House Ethics Committee.”

Mahoney has yet to resign… in fact, he’s calling for an investigation on himself.