Yesterday, I presented you with a list of governmental reforms that many of us would like to see. The comments were quite interesting.
One person, likely a member of NorCo Council, attacked me for supporting term limits for county offices. I do believe term limits for state and federal office are way overdue. But the truth is that I never supported term limits on a county level and consider that a gray area. I would oppose them for offices like borough council or township supervisor because those offices pay very little but take up a lot of time. It is hard to attract good people. On the county level, I did support letting the people decide the question in a referendum. This was opposed by former Council members Kevin Lott, Ron Heckman and Tara Zrinski. It was also opposed by former Exec Lamont McClure, whose veto had to be overridden. One person suggested that a term limits bill should be called the Bob Freeman Act.
Most of you would like to see some form of open primaries but a few of you would limit voters to party members. I know that outfits like Working Families oppose open primaries and I think this is probably because the only way they can get one of their more extreme candidates nominated is through a closed primary.
One of you, a reader named Hoople, had a great idea. "If you cannot vote for a candidate - do not live in the area they will represent - you cannot contribute to their campaign. Exceptions for relatives - if your, for example, son is running for office and lives out the area, you can make a small donation to the campaign.
" "If you are a paid elected official and you vote for a tax increase, your pay is adjusted down by the percent you approved. 17% tax increase? Your pay takes a 17% cut.
"If you are a paid elected official, you cannot endorse candidates at campaign events. Writing an op-ed in support is sufficient. No more using a paid day to travel and rally for someone."
I've begun work on a post detailing elected officials who accept donations from their subordinates as well as people who have business interests with the municipality they represent. It is a fairly widespread pratice, but I consider it a form of soft corruption that should be banned. I expect to bring you that story in a day or two.
The people we elect will never do most of this stuff they are politicians and have a DNA that is quite different than most people.
ReplyDeleteOutside money is a bane but i don't know how one would ban a PAC or wealthy donor from donating to candidate out of their area (and one they've probably never met). It's really a matter of ethics but if a candidate said "I will not accept outside money", they'd never get elected to anything except a boring, local office in a small town and the party they belong to would never back them on a scope bigger than that.
ReplyDeleteElected officials endorsing candidates they cannot vote for is one thing I'd like to see go away; especially the campaign rally visit on the taxpayer dime. But, that's an easy work-around: The governor, for example, could visit a small business in Scranton touting some economic plan of his and how it helped that business, and just happen to schedule that the day some local candidate is speaking at the union hall.
There were some pretty good ideas in yesterday's comments but, it's all just wishful thinking.
I don’t know how far back the records go but Corriere used to do this all the time. It would be interesting to see how Morgs, Houck and Baratta handled it.
ReplyDeletePoliticians are like diapers. They need to be changed regularly for the same reason.
ReplyDeleteResign to run is a good idea for offices that are full-time. Some local officials on township or school boards are not paid or paid little and said offices are not full-time so those could be exempt. Seeing a F.T. county controller like Zrinski use the office solely for a platform to campaign was both nauseating and larceny; $85,000 from the taxpayers direct deposited. Theft. Say, maybe that's a good idea: instead of resigning to run, maybe forfeit your pay and benefits?
ReplyDeletePay from or to subordinates and other akin nepotism must stop. Didn't McClure donate to Keegan when she last ran for council. Wrong and unethical.
Zrinski should reimburse the taxpayer for her stint as Controller. She had as much business with being Controller as my pet dog. She had no idea what she was doing, her staff did all the work, and she read their reports at Council meetings. What a disgrace!
DeleteIt’s not about what you’re being paid, it’s about the votes you will make when you’re also running for another office.
DeleteFor instance, if I’m a school board member, is my vote to approve (or deny) a contract only because it’s in the best interests of the school district, or is it because it could somehow help me (with voters, donors, whoever) in my run for a different office?
Put another way, am I concerned only with the voters I was elected to represent, or am I now also worried about how my decisions will play with the voters of the new office I am seeking?
Resign-to-run should be absolute, with no exceptions.
The people that are against opening the primaries want to push the country further to the extremes.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes people decide to run for public office? I like to believe they have something to offer in the way of making their community a better place to live or some ideas that would make for a better living for those who are really needy. medical assistance for the needy, etc. In most cases, they don't run for public office for the pay. Sure, you will always have a handful of individuals who find a niche and bleed it for all it's worth but they are usually not the rule. There is a learning curve with all newly elected officials. Experience does matter. Be careful what you wish for.
ReplyDeleteFreeman, Boscola, Emrick, Flood have found their niche!
ReplyDeleteMost Pols run for their ego and for the benefits. Zrinski is a perfect example, along with Warren and Boulette. Zrinski has run for every office imaginable, and got lucky recently against 2 non- existent opponents. Boulette spent 1 year on Wind Gap Council, a town w/o a functioning Fire Company due to mismanagement, and rides the Blue wave last November to a seat on County Council. His first order of business, get his wife a cushy patronage County job. Warren, goes w/o saying, is just a bloviating idiot who wants to be a State Rep. You should've seen these 3 at Steve Samuelson's wedding last week- all I could think of is, we're in for a long 4 years!
ReplyDeleteAnon 9:05 am said:
ReplyDelete“Zrinski should reimburse the taxpayer for her stint as Controller. She had as much business with being Controller as my pet dog”
Judging by Zrinski’s performance in her current position, NorCo residents would be better off today if your dog had run for Executive!
Things we need:
ReplyDeleteLess caterwauling. Politicians make dopey promises and voters ask government to do things it can’t.
Shorter meetings. Start by limiting public comment to two or three minutes per person. If you can’t say it in three minutes, it’s hopeless.
Long meetings can be boring, few people attend and bad moves can slip by the public.
Post drafts of minutes online before they are approved at the next meeting. Otherwise people won’t have a way to find out what happened for weeks if they missed the meeting.
For the elected people: Be less boring. Be less (attemptedly) profound. Stick to the point, be brief and don’t expect to change somebody else’s vote by talking endlessly.