| 2/20/2008
11:47:00 AM |
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John Waelti: Assembly bid forces
departure on some fronts
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John
Waelti
| During
the past month, a lot of people have asked me why they haven't
seen my periodic column on these pages of the Times. The
answer is simple enough - editor Jeff Rogers and I agreed that
since I have declared candidacy for the 80th Assembly District
it would not be appropriate to be accorded regular space as a
columnist on these pages. However, I requested, and editor
Rogers generously agreed, to allow a column to explain my
absence from these pages and to thank readers for their
wonderful response to past columns.
Many people also
have asked me why I resigned from the Monroe school board upon
declaring candidacy for the Assembly. After all, there is no
law that requires a candidate for the Legislature to resign
from a school board. However, I believe it to be a prudent
decision. Here's why.
First, let's clarify that an
individual board member has absolutely no power or influence
over district matters except through decisions made by the
entire board. Whether we are on the majority or minority side
of a split vote - and I have been on both sides - once the
vote is taken, individual board members support the board's
decisions.
The point is that I would not want my vote
on a district issue to be viewed as politically motivated.
Even if in my own mind I could separate my views as a board
member from those as a candidate for the Legislature, it might
not be perceived as such. And as we all know, in politics and
public service distinction between perception and reality is
murky. Therefore, the cleanest way to separate actions as
candidate and actions as a board member is to not try to play
both roles simultaneously.
The same holds looking at it
from the other direction. I would not want statements I make
as a candidate for the Legislature to reflect back on the
board. Would I be seen to be speaking as a candidate, or as a
board member? Even though speaking as a candidate, I would not
want to be perceived as necessarily reflecting views of other
board members. So, again, the cleanest way to avoid confusion
is to avoid the dual role.
Clearly, my experience on
the board has affected my views on issues involving K-12
education. But speaking from past experience as a board member
is very different from speaking as an existing board member.
As a former board member, any statements I should make are
clearly my own and do not necessarily reflect views of the
board or its current members.
It is thus that I have
resigned from the board and am, for now, discontinuing this
periodic column. I take this opportunity to thank my readers
for their encouraging responses to the 40 or so columns that I
have written during the past two-plus years.
It's a
great feeling to have people say that they enjoy your column
and agree with you. And it's also reassuring to have people
say that although they may disagree, they still look forward
to, and enjoy, your column. After all, when discussing public
issues no two people, however rational and reasonable, can
agree on everything. But one can explain reasons for various
views. I have tried to do that, and I sincerely appreciate the
positive response from my readers regarding this
approach.
I enjoy writing, and economists are not
usually shy about expressing opinion. So it's not likely that
I will go away. I'll be around in one context or
another.
- John Waelti is a former member of the Monroe
Board of Education and currently a candidate for the 80th
Assembly District of the Wisconsin State
Legislature.
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