The Return of Jerry Mezzatesta?

Because of the relevance of the saga of the fallen former Hampshire County Delegate Jerry Mezzatesta to the Eastern Mineral County and the Potomac Highlands, I have re-posted the following from my post at the Think Tank this morning:

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The Return of the Mezz?

Well, hopefully not.Former Delegate Jerry Mezzatesta is trying to get old job back at Hampshire County Schools. The Daily Mail reports:

Bailey urged Taylor to uphold the grievance board's decision, while Bruce asked that Mezzatesta be allowed back in his previous position and awarded back pay, Bailey said.

Back pay? Does this fellow have ANY shame?

Aside from diverting $35,000 in education grants to a local fire department, the Mezz and his wife pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of destroying and altering legislative computer records in Kanahwa County in 2004.

And of course, the Mezz wanted the taxpayers to foot the bill for his trip to the magistrate as Eric Eyre reported back in December of 2004.

Former House Education Chairman Jerry Mezzatesta wants the state to reimburse him nearly $1,000 for a three-day visit to Charleston during which he cleaned out his office, said goodbye to friends, and pleaded no contest to a criminal charge in Kanawha County Magistrate Court.Mezzatesta has requested "duty day" pay for this past Saturday, Sunday and Monday at $150 each day. He also put in for $115 in expenses for each of those days, and $192 for mileage to and from his home in Romney.

If you don't recall or weren't around for the fall of the mighty former House Education Chairman (who was also former Speaker Bob Kiss' right hand man), you can read about it here in this award winning series by Eric Eyre at the Charleston Gazette.

Ruth Rowan Defends Potomac Highlands Values

Ruth Rowan Defends Potomac Highlands Values

When the 50th Delegate District sent Ruth Rowan to Charleston in 2004, she had to know that she went under a shadow. Long time delegate Jerry Mezzatesta’s behavior in office was described by Hardy County Democrat and Delegate Harold Michael as affecting “how the public perceives the entire House of Delegates.” That being said, “Mezz” had a knack for bringing home the bacon from Charleston. Delegate Rowan served as a schoolteacher before going to the Legislature just as Mezzatesta did. Although she definitely could not start with the same kind of influence as her predecessor, Delegate Rowan serves the 50th with honesty, efficiency, and dignity.

According to Project Vote Smart, Delegate Rowan’s voting record, especially in 2006, has reflected the kinds of values that West Virginians tend to support. She voted 70% of the time to limit government waste, 80% of the time in favor of pro-family issues, and 86% of the time in support of small businessmen and women. The National Rifle Association honored Delegate Rowan with an “A” rating and she also was endorsed by the West Virginia AFL-CIO. Certainly the last mention does not necessarily reflect purely conservative values, but it is in step with many West Virginia voters.

Beyond Delegate Rowan’s honesty, her reflection of her voters’ values, and her increasing effectiveness (due to ever increasing seniority) is her personality. If you were to try and create a perfect citizen-legislator, you would combine intelligence, experience with everyday concerns, and approachability. If West Virginia voters collectively made an effort to rid the state legislature of corrupt members and replace them with real citizen-legislators such as Delegate Rowan, we might finally see a political system that truly works for the state.

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It may be shocking to the Christian Science Monitor, (“Firing of US Attorneys Puts New Focus on Voter Fraud”, April 5, 2007) but most certainly not those of us in West Virginia that vote buying continues to plague our democracy. The St. Clair County Illinois Democratic Executive Committee paid East St. Louis residents $5 or $10 to secure a vote for John Kerry and other Democrats in 2004. Although this incident was investigated and resulted in a conviction, other United States attorneys refused to seek out and prosecute similar instances of voter fraud. Therefore the Bush administration wisely sent several of them packing.

Liberal Democratic organizations such as the People for the American Way insist that voter fraud is not substantial enough to warrant the time of federal investigators. However former US Attorney Kasey Warner noted that votes in West Virginia sold in large numbers for between $15 and $25 (obviously St. Clair County residents were getting gypped.) This was in the same year, 2004, that state Republican party chair Kris Warner and his brother Monty had received death threats for their pledge to root out vote buying and other forms of corruption. Although the People for the American Way do not seem to believe vote buying is an important issue, the vote buyers seem to take it extremely seriously.

How on earth can we take democracy seriously if it is for sale?