multi millionaire jane harman should pay for the special election she is creating
The idea that Jane Harman is quitting Congress because she is a frustrated moderate is absurd. Harman is worth an estimated $300 million and so she thinks she can dine and dash at taxpayers’ expense. She has been missing in action from our 36th district for years. She didn’t hold a single public forum before the government healthcare vote despite her constituents’ pleadings and protests. She has consistently ignored the people of the South Bay and is only seen when there is an election at hand. Harman has been aloof and disconnected for years.
She quit Congress because the Democrats were no longer in control and millionaires don’t like to toil away in the minority. Why would she run for a new term if she really had no intention of finishing it? What changed so abruptly? Lee Hamilton announced May 3, 2010 that he would be leaving the Woodrow Wilson Center job that Harman is now taking. Harman and the Woodrow Wilson Center should come clean on exactly when their conversation started. If it is found that Harman was already making inquiries to take the Center’s top job before her November election then she owes the voters an apology. Harman resigning a few weeks in to a two year term is offensive to the voters. In fact, Harman served all of 33 days of her 730 day commitment before announcing her departure – that’s a cost to taxpayers of $126,575.34 of wasted time when you figure her annual office budget is $1.4 million.
Sadly, we are not surprised by her lack of respect for us – it’s been a pattern. Millionaire politicians think they can do what they want without facing the consequences of their actions. Unfortunately, Los Angeles taxpayers also have to foot the million dollar special election bill to pay for Harman’s selfishness. Harman should pay for the election to fill her vacancy with her personal fortune and reimburse the taxpayers for her ego-centric decision. After all, Harman can afford it; Los Angeles taxpayers already have a huge budget deficit.
The person who replaces Harman should be someone with real world experience, not some re-cycled politician with tired ideas seeking higher office and creating more special elections. Janice Hahn and Debra Bowen are career politicians that have been so unimpressive that it would be a mistake for voters to send them to Washington. Hahn helped create the financial mess that Los Angeles finds itself in and Bowen hasn’t produced the changes at the DMV she promised. Why send uninspiring bureaucrats to do the same thing in Congress? We’ve seen what they deliver and we should say, “No thanks.”
Isn’t there someone in the South Bay that knows how to balance a budget and make the necessary tough decisions that we expect of our representatives? Is there someone in the 36th District that could bring new ideas to Washington without maneuvering for their next gig? How about we find someone that will also come back home to the South Bay after serving and live under the same laws that they helped create? Thomas Jefferson is asking for someone to stand up – and the voters are asking the same ‘ole politicians to sit down.
Richard A. Grenell has nearly two decades of experience in all aspects of communications and public affairs. Grenell has served as the primary communications advisor for public officials at the local, state, federal and international levels, as well as for publicly traded Fortune 500 ranked companies.
April 19th, 2011 at 6:53 am
I wholeheartedly agree! When things don’t go her way she quits because she doesn’t need this stinking job anyway! YES, she should be forced to pay for the special election. On a more positive note, Good Riddance, Janey! She’s one of the three women in this state (Senora Feinstein and Senora Boxero being the others) that have pandered for the hispanic vote and thrown Californians under the bus when it comes to voting on any bill that would stop aiding and abetting the millions of illegals who are bleeding our state dry, and yes, taking jobs that Californians would do. It’s a disastrous fallacy that most illegals work in the fields– it’s actually a very small percentage of them. The rest are wiping out the construction and service industries by working for unscrupulous companies for much less than an American could work for. We, after all, pay taxes and don’t somehow qualify for free medical care via ERs, free lunches for our kids at free public schools, or in-state tuition if from another state. This pandering for votes will ultimately cost us our nation as the “politically correct” government turns their heads for fear of offending anyone hispanic.