Here's a neat post from Rich Miller's Capitol Fax Blog, which you may recognize from columns being run in the South County News. Based on a State Journal-Register column about Gary Hannig's wife being considered as his replacement in the IL House, Miller poses the question should the Assembly pass a bill forbidding the appointment of political spouses/family members to fill seats.
I vote no. Macoupin's current State Senator, Deanna Demuzio, was appointed to fill her late husband's seat, and she has proven herself a capable successor. Sure, currently there is a chance that unqualified family members may be "given" posts based on patronage, but it's just as likely that friends of current politicians are appointed to those seats, and there's no way to pass a law to ban that, so the idea just seems a little silly to me and unfair to potentially good candidates who also happen to be family members of current politicians. Thoughts?
CREDIT: This information came to me from my lovely fiancee, Sarah, pictured above right.
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3 comments:
I agree, I think that Deanna's done a fine job replacing Vince, and that prohibiting that sort of thing would be both silly and a political/logistical nightmare. What about common-law couples? Same sex couples (whether or not gay marriage was legal at that moment)? Other family relationships? I think it's just too problematic to work, nor is it a good idea in the first place.
If anyone has been watching Colbert, they know that what we need is a law preventing the appointment of werewolves to congress.
9 days by my count without an update. Who's suffering from blog fade now?
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