By Craig Anderson

DOVER — Reacting to the Oct. 11 indictment of State Auditor Kathy McGuiness in connection with misconduct allegations, Democratic Party committees throughout Delaware have called for action.

They have pushed for various steps to be taken, ranging from Ms. McGuiness to take a leave of absence or step down from office, or for legislators and Gov. John Carney to take action.

Ms. McGuiness, a Democrat, has pleaded not guilty to two felony and three misdemeanor charges. They include felony theft and act of intimidation, as well as misdemeanor counts of conflict of interest: violation of the state officials’ code of conduct; structuring: noncompliance with procurement law; and official misconduct.

On Tuesday, the Delaware Democratic Party confirmed that 11 of the state’s 41 representative districts, covering all three counties, have issued statements.

On Oct. 25, District 23 of New Castle County became to first to speak out, saying:

“Like all Delawareans, we were shocked and disturbed to hear of the charges against Delaware State Auditor of Accounts, Kathy McGuiness.

“The seriousness of the charges and their nature require that Auditor McGuiness at least take an immediate leave of absence. It is impossible for her to carry out the important responsibilities of her office while under indictment for official misconduct. Should Auditor McGuiness fail to step aside, we call upon the State Legislature and Governor to take appropriate action as quickly as possible.”

The chair of that district, Aletia Morgan, said, “As Auditor, Ms. McGuiness is responsible for rooting out fraud and misuse of taxpayer dollars. Given the credible accusations of abuse of her own office that she is facing, she cannot effectively lead in this basic responsibility while under indictment. Accordingly, Auditor McGuiness must step down.”

Multiple representative districts followed suit.

The 20th District, based in Sussex County, announced that it “supports the statements issued by the Delaware Democratic Party, the Democratic leadership of the State Senate, and the Democratic leadership of the State House regarding the situation with Auditor of Accounts Kathy McGuiness.”

The chair of the 26th District, also in New Castle County, released an opinion, as well. Liz Page said, “I am proud that our members voted unanimously in favor of a statement calling for the State Auditor to step down. Although Ms. McGuiness fails to do the right thing for the citizens of Delaware, we have the ability to hold her accountable for her actions and to ensure that we have a high-functioning government that serves the people.”

Also weighing in after the indictment were Sen. Laura Sturgeon, D-Woodbrook, who said, “Democrats up and down the State are saying we won’t stand for abuse of office, and we aren’t afraid to call on one of our own to step aside when their actions have compromised public trust and confidence.”

Rep. Eric Morrison, D-Glasgow, issued a statement that read:

“Immediately after she was indicted, I called on the State Auditor to resign. Amongst many other concerns, the office cannot possibly now function in a meaningful way and serve Delawareans. Taxpayer dollars supporting the office are now wasted taxpayer dollars.”

Asked Tuesday for the Senate Republican caucus’s current stance on Ms. McGuiness, a spokesman pointed to earlier remarks issued by Sens. Gerald Hocker of Ocean View and Brian Pettyjohn of Georgetown:

“The Senate Republicans will refrain from commenting until the criminal process has concluded,” they said.

Republican representatives also continued to stick with their earlier position, according to spokesman Joseph Fulgham.

“The position of our caucus has not changed,” he said.

“There are two competing sides that are offering mutually exclusive versions of the facts surrounding this case. Both the state auditor and the state attorney general will have an opportunity to prove the validity of their claims in court. The leaders of our organization do not believe there should be any rush to judgment before this deliberative process has unfolded and all the facts have been disclosed,” Mr. Fulgham said.