After three employees accused a senior policy adviser at the City Council of sexual harassment last week, the anxiety was palpable in the east side of City Hall.

The council had seen two other sexual-harassment complaints in the previous six months, and the staff seemed concerned that the council speaker, Gifford Miller, would be in political quicksand if he did not respond swiftly and fittingly.

He did respond swiftly, suspending the high-ranking aide who was the target of the women’s allegation. But some are questioning whether Mr. Miller, 35, handled last week’s complaint against Barry Ford, a policy adviser who was hired in May, appropriately.

“I think he jumped the gun,” Council Member Charles Barron said of his fellow Democratic mayoral aspirant. “I think he panicked. That’s the way it appears without having all of the behind-the-scenes information.”

The Brooklynite, a frequent critic of the speaker, said he did not think Mr. Ford was granted “due process.”

“I think he overreacted because he was concerned about how it would look for him politically,” Mr. Barron said of Mr. Miller.

Earlier this year, Mr. Miller was widely criticized for his delayed response to charges made against Council Member

Allan Jennings Jr. of Queens. Mr. Miller has since tried to prove he learned his lesson. He and his staff have used the phrase “zero tolerance” to depict him as a strong manager. And when Council Member Vincent Gentile of Brooklyn was accused of sexual harassment by his top aide, Mr. Miller publicly launched an investigation immediately.

Council Member Christine Quinn, a close ally of Mr. Miller’s, defended his latest actions, saying he “sent a clear message that sexual harassment will not be tolerated in the City Council.”

“I don’t think in any way, shape, or form the speaker’s office acted too quickly,” the Manhattan Democrat said during a phone interview. “They acted immediately upon getting a charge of sexual harassment. That is what victims have the right to expect from their employer.”

“I understand Charles’s concern that people be given due process,” she continued, referring to Mr. Barron, “but I don’t believe that Mr. Ford was denied an appropriate process.”

Mr. Ford, who challenged Rep. Edolphus Towns twice in Democratic primaries and served as deputy public advocate under Mark Green, resigned soon after his suspension Tuesday.

A council employee, who would not go on the record, said the women accused Mr. Ford of touching them inappropriately on their legs and shoulders during social gatherings outside the office.

The City Council instituted a ban on alcohol at social parties after the complaints against Mr. Ford were made.

When reached by phone yesterday, Mr. Ford said he was “trying to avoid public comment” and then hung up. In Friday’s New York Post, he denied any wrongdoing, and he is rumored to be retaining a lawyer and, possibly, a public relations firm.

Mr. Ford, who is married and has two children, has a reputation among council members as smart and policy savvy. He is the fifth high-ranking black member of Mr. Miller’s staff to resign, leading to some speculation that his departure could be a liability for Mr. Miller when the mayoral campaign gains momentum.

A political-science professor at Baruch College, Douglas Muzzio, said the political fallout of the Ford case for Mr. Miller was difficult to gauge.

“Clearly, under any circumstances these situations don’t help him,” he said. “He can’t be held responsible for his staff members’ personal behavior, but it will reflect on him.”

Ms. Quinn said the cluster of sexual-harassment complaints was not an indication of a loose environment at the council, but simply a reflection of the society.

“We need to remember that, tragically, sexual harassment is real and prevalent in the American work force and every place of employment has to struggle at that unfortunate reality,” she said.