Dear Editor,
Our son urges his friend to go with him and practice shooting hoops. The friend says he can’t because he promised his family that he would clean up the yard. Our son badgers his friend to go with him and finally the friend does. Later our sons friend learns a lesson he won’t forget about integrity, trust and honoring a promise from his parents and our son learns the same thing from us. In this story, their action was unethical; we all know this. When the state sales tax was raised in 2010, Legislators promised it would expire in 2013. Sen. Holmes contends that his vote to renew the state sales tax and break that promise was perfectly ethical.
The members of the States Cabinet serve at the pleasure of the Governor. As a condition of their appointment they are expected to work against efforts that would thwart the Governors political desires. Governors keep secret the names of those considered for these partisan appointments. The Governor has stated he is keeping the names of applicants to become Appellate court judges a secret, just as he does his Cabinet appointments. Prior to this year these applicants had to apply through a non-political selection committee that published their names and held public interviews. Using Opposite World logic, Sen. Holmes stated he voted for this change because the old process was very secretive.
It costs taxpayers a few pennies each for school districts to administer teacher payroll deductions for items such as insurance premiums and retirement funds. The legislature has outlawed payroll deductions for teacher union dues because a portion of the dues is used to lobby for school issues.
Last year taxpayers paid a few pennies each so that the Governor could hold dinners for state legislators to plot Republican Party political strategy. The taxpayers of Democratic districts got to pay for dinners to help ensure their desires, expressed through their representatives, would not prevail in the Legislature.
Sen. Holmes said principal required that he vote to outlaw payroll deductions for teacher union dues. He was quoted as stating, To do so would be to ask taxpayers to administer political dollars to causes they may or may not wish to support. Using Opposite World logic, Sen. Holmes supports requiring taxpayers to pay for political party dinners.
Our current Secretary of State has the lead responsibility to ensure fair elections in our state. He has not only declared which candidates the voters of this state should vote for, but also raised money to pay for ads to defeat legislators that did not vote for legislation in the manner that he wanted them to. If we read of this same behavior in a country trying to emerge from tribal dictatorship we would shake our heads. Such action is unethical; we all know this.
Sen. Holmes contends his vote against the Holland amendment which would have prohibited the Secretary of State from forming political action committees was perfectly ethical.
In the 33rd Senate District we like to think of ourselves as uncompromisingly ethical. It is not a very pleasurable reality to face, but as we pursue our political wants, wishes and whims we have chosen to be a different kind of people.
John Sturn
Ellinwood