April 12, 2012
House speaker blocked from teachers union job
Thompson sought Ethics Commission OK
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The state Ethics Commission refused Thursday to sign off on West Virginia House Speaker Rick Thompson's plan to take a job as chief lawyer for the West Virginia Education Association, a group that routinely lobbies the Legislature.
Thompson wanted to work for the teachers union, while continuing to serve as House speaker.
Commission members concluded that Thompson would have an "inescapable conflict of interest."
YOU MUST FOLLOW THESE RULES TO POST A COMMENT:
Keep it clean. Comments that are obscene, sexually explicit, racist or offensive will be removed. If you wouldn?t say it to your mother, don't post it here.
Be civil. Don't threaten to hurt anyone. Personal attacks, insults or harassment of any kind are subject to removal.
Be truthful. Don't lie about a situation or person.
Keep it brief. Keep your comment to one post. Redundant or multiple posts in a row aren?t allowed.
Stay on task. Stick to the topics relevant to the story and discussion.
Let us know about offensive comments. Click the 'Report Abuse' button if you think a comment is against the rules.
NOTICE TO READERS:
The Gazette values readers' comments and insights. So, to
create a more constructive and civil setting for readers, we're making a
few changes. Comments will no longer appear immediately, but will show
up after they have been reviewed and approved. Also, we will be more
selective about comments that we approve. We welcome wit and wisdom and,
yes, dissent, but personal attacks, remarks in poor taste or those
overly critical or irrational will not be published. We encourage you to
keep posting. We just ask that you keep it civil.
Submitting as:
Web Page issue? Contact webmas...@wvgazette.com
Site Map #ws1.cnpapers.net
Built on May 16, 2013 at 1:29 am
Site Map #ws1.cnpapers.net
Built on May 16, 2013 at 1:29 am
Privacy Policy · Terms of Service · © Copyright 1996-2013
The Charleston Gazette
Subscribe to the Gazette
Subscribe to the Gazette
Here is an easy rule - if you or your organization has a lobbyist on staff, then you are too actively involved in trying to pressure or persuade the actions of the legislature to have a member directly and overtly on your payroll! Sadly, you'll just have to keep slipping them money under the table as always, and not provide them with an office and health insurance.
Wow.
I am right wing, I am not anti-education, I am middle class and I am pro common sense. Much of what the "education" hierarchy, not the teachers, want is not common sense.
Stories like this are some of the best work a newspaper can do. Eyre has exposed a blatent raw grab for more power by the WVEA.
And Thompson? I be he was to get a real nice "flat fee" for very little legal work. His real job was a word here and there in the legislature on matters of importance to the WVEA.
Thompson and the WVEA has demonstrated their contempt for the voters and taxpayers of WV.
The Fifth Estate, as much as the Ethics Board, stopped these unsavory power brokers.
The GAZ editorial board is nuts, but apparently they have some good reporters.
That is breaking news!
Now, however, I at least understand why that's their only answer to everything: BECAUSE THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH IT.
We pretend teachers are county, not State, employees so that they can get around the constitutional prohibition that State employees can't serve in the Legislature. We permit those same Legislators to provide unfettered access to the Legislature for the teachers' unions. We give the unions virtual veto control over every education bill in the House.
But that's not enough. Now they want to go from indirectly funding Thompson's re-election campaigns to openly just putting the Speaker on salary. I guess the reason neither the Speaker nor the union saw anything wrong with this was it was such a
Other lawyers who are legislators work for firms which represent all sorts of clients. Some of those same firms have attorneys who actively lobby the legislature on behalf of large clients.
While you think that may create a potential conflict, it is no different than the potential conflicts facing any legislator/lawyer who is actively practicing law.
He was considering a job with a new client. His new potential client has other lobbyists, and he was not going to engage in lobbying activities. He was above-board and checked with the ethics commission before he made the move.
The Ethics Commission Staff thought it was OK, with clarification of what he could do on behalf of this new client. The members of the Ethics Commission thought otherwise.
He decided to pursue it no further.
I see no reason to criticize him for his actions.
NO.
If he worked for a law firm that did legal work for the WVEA or any other union, would he have to step down from his legislative office or quit working for the firm?
NO.
If he worked for a law firm who had other other attorneys in the law firm register as lobbyists on behalf of the WVEA or any union or any other entity that business who wished to lobby the legislature on any issue, would he have been required to step down from his legislative office or resign from the law firm?
NO.
The lines are not as clear as the critics pretend they are.