TRENTON - Taking authoritative charge, Governor Mikie Sherrill this afternoon announced her acceptance of the resignation of Lt. Gov Dale Caldwell.

In conjunction with her release of a report detailing misconduct allegations furnished by an independent investigation, the Governor last night called for him to resign.

He complied.

Today, Sherrill personally made the announcement in her outer office.

"He demonstrated a pattern of behavior that does not meet the standards of this administration," the Governor said of the former LG.

"In my administration we are committed to doing what is right not what is politically expedient," she added.

The Governor promised "to move swiftly to select a new LG."

Standing beside Sherrill, Acting Comptroller Shirley Emehelu will serve as New Jerey's acting secretary of state, the cabinet position Caldwell filled in addition to serving as lieutenant governor.

"There has been a culture in Trenton probably since the birth of our nation to sweep this under the rug," Sherrill told reporters. [There are people] who "for decades felt this day would never come, that action would never be taken, that victims would either have to quit their job or move on.

"When I say there is a culture change going on, I mean it," the Governor added. ..."The key thing was to remove the lieutenant governor from his position so we could continue forward with our agenda for the state."

Sherrill pushed back strongly against criticisms of her expressed by the GOP.

They want to change the topic of conversation from the corruption of President Donald J. Trump, she said.

"He continues to try to steal an election," the Governor said. "At every turn they are refusing to stand up. They are probably unhappy because we are running a government that stands in sharp contrast to everything we see at the federal level."

She expressed her complete confidence in Emehelu to oversee fair and safe elections 39 days from now.

The Governor will soon name an acting comptroller to replace Emehelu. Sherrill said she does not anticipate install an LG replacement imminently, as she wants to ensure the best replacement.