Greenwich Board of Selectmen Call for Christopher von Keyserling's Resignation

GREENWICH, CT — The Greenwich Board of Selectmen have joined the growing chorus of town officials calling for the resignation of Representative Town Meeting member Christopher von Keyserling, who has been accused of pinching a female town employee's groin area.

In a statement released Friday, First Selectman Peter J. Tesei, Selectman John Toner and Selectman Drew Marzullo said von Keyserling's actions "sullied" the town's reputation, and they call for his immediate resignation. They added that he has admitted to those actions.

An RTM member from District 8-Cos Cob, von Keyserling was arrested on a warrant on Jan. 11 charging him with fourth-degree sexual assault, a misdemeanor, in connection with the altercation at Town Hall on Dec. 9.

As of earlier this week, von Keyserling said he did not have a position on whether he will resign.

Below is the Board of Selectmen's full statement, and the members also hope that the RTM "and its leadership will support this call":

In the wake of last week’s arrest of Representative Town Meeting (RTM) member Chris von Keyserling, the Board of Selectmen has received numerous telephone calls and emails from residents and people from across the Country expressing concern and outrage about the incident.

The members are troubled by the allegations surrounding Mr. von Keyserling’s January 11, 2017 arrest on a fourth-degree sexual assault charge.

Mr. von Keyserling has admitted to the inappropriate actions taken by him against a Town employee.

The reputation of the Town of Greenwich has been sullied as a result of the admitted actions of Mr. von Keyserling.

The Town of Greenwich has a zero tolerance policy for this behavior. It is imperative that our employees feel secure and protected at all times. We do not wish to allow a perception to be created that this behavior is acceptable.

The Town requires all of its employees to undergo comprehensive training with respect to sexual harassment and discrimination with the objective of preventing this type of behavior.

While there is no legislative mechanism to remove an elected Greenwich official from office, the undersigned are calling upon Mr. von Keyserling to resign his position as a member of the RTM, representing District 8 - Cos Cob, and as chair of the RTM’s District 8 delegation.

While the undersigned appreciate Mr. von Keyserling’s years of service, it is now time for him to place the interests of the Town, its residents, employees and the Representative Town Meeting ahead of his own interests by resigning immediately.

The undersigned hope the Representative Town Meeting and its leadership will support this call for Mr. von Keyserling’s resignation.

First Selectman Peter J. Tesei: peter.tesei@greenwichct.org.

Selectman John Toner: john.toner@greenwichct.org.

Selectman Drew Marzullo: drew.marzullo@greenwichct.org.

Photo credit: Town of Greenwich, CT