By a 98-8 margin, the state House of Representatives voted Thursday to pass a resolution urging colleague Rep. Larry Inman, R-Williamsburg, to resign.

Lawmakers have been calling for Inman to leave his seat since he was indicted by a federal grand jury in May for allegedly seeking campaign donations from the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and other unions in 2018 in return for a "no" vote on a measure to repeal Michigan's prevailing wage law, which required union wage rates on most public projects.

But the vote this week formalized the chamber’s desire to get rid of a fellow lawmaker who has been accused of felonies. If he doesn't resign, the resolution noted that the House could take further disciplinary action.

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“Inman’s pattern of conduct, including both the actions alleged in the indictment and numerous public statements made afterward, has drawn ridicule and disgrace to the state of Michigan and the Michigan House of Representatives, shaking the public trust and confidence in this legislative body, staining the honor, dignity and integrity of the House, and distracting from the serious policy issues and debates before this body,” the resolution read.

Inman has resisted the resignation calls, saying the text messages he sent to unions regarding the prevailing wage vote were taken out of context. He also blamed an addiction to opioids he used after a recent surgery.

According to the indictment, Inman, who was first elected to the state House in 2014, texted a union representative and said: "I hear the prevailing wage vote may be on Wednesday," and while "carpenters have been good to me, where are the rest of the trades on checks?"

He ended the text message exchange with a cryptic, "We never had this conversation."

The alleged pleas for campaign cash came in an election year that proved to be a close contest for Inman, who beat his Democratic opponent by fewer than 700 votes last November.

Inman, 65, a retired vice president of Huntington National Bank, has not attended legislative sessions since the indictment was filed on May 14. Constituents in his district are collecting signatures to recall him from office.

If Inman doesn’t resign, the House can begin explusion proceedings, which would require a two-thirds majority vote.

The resolution stated: “The House of Representatives reserves the right to take further disciplinary action … in the event that Representative Larry Inman does not immediately resign.”

In a brief conversation with the Free Press before referring questions to his attorney, Inman said he just got home from treatment “and I’m feeling great. I’m actually doing a heck of a lot better.”

Inman’s attorney Chris Cooke said the continued calls for Inman’s resignation are ensuring that his client won’t be able to get a fair trial.

“It’s troubling that the House has moved forward without allowing Inman to fully air his position in a court of law,” he said. “He’s presumed innocent and now it’s all over the media that the House has acted on this and the way the resolution is framed is extremely prejudicial.”

Inman won’t resign from the House, Cooke said: “Larry did not do anything wrong. Why aren’t we more concerned about the federal government coming in and prosecuting a state resident based on legitimate political contributions? That’s scary water to be in right now.”

A trial in U.S. District Court on charges of soliciting a bribe, lying to a federal agent and attempted extortion has not been set yet while a motion by Cooke to dismiss the charges is being considered.

The eight votes against the resignation resolution all came from Democrats: Reps. Sherry Gay Dagnogo, Tyrone Carter, Isaac Robinson, LaTanya Garret and Karen Whitsett, all of Detroit; Jewell Jones of Inkster, Rebekah Warren of Ann Arbor and Tanisha Yancey of Harper Woods.

Contact Kathleen Gray: 313-223-4430, kgray99@freepress.com or on Twitter @michpoligal.