[Vision2020] Standing By His Promises

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (May 27, 2006) Moscow-Pullman Daily News with a special thanks
to Joe Campbell.

To request and/or expect a city councilperson to recuse him/herself simply
because (s)he still supports the very same issues that were an integral part
of his/her election campaign is simply wrong.

We should not punish elected officials for being loyal to promises they made
to their constituency.  We should expect it.

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Standing by his promises 

In a recent letter to the editor, Jim Anderson requests that Moscow City
Councilman Bob Stout recuse himself on the issue of police unionization to
"avoid an obvious conflict of interest." Anderson correctly notes that Stout
has been a vocal proponent of police unionization both before and after the
election. The key here is that Stout was a vocal proponent of police
unionization prior to the election and was elected, in part, based on his
views on this particular subject. Part of the reason that I voted for Stout
was his support for this very cause. Stout does not have a conflict of
interest, for he in no way profits should unionization pass. He doesn't have
a biased opinion on the subject. He has an informed opinion that happens to
be different than Anderson's. 

This is just a case of one politician standing by his campaign promises.
Stout's actions should be praised, not ridiculed. 

Joe Campbell 
Moscow

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"If I wanted to overhear every tedious scrap of brain static rattling around
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- Bill Maher