Eckels: Where did the love go?
Most politicians want to be loved. It's the nature of their craft.
And politicians who have mostly been loved while in office really get used to it.
Sometimes they don't take criticism very well.
Today, we're treated to an example of that, as the Chronicle's Bill Murphy reports that Judge Robert Eckels -- who has been criticized on blogs (including this one) and in the MSM for his bad timing in stepping aside from an elected term that he just won, which will result in a replacement being appointed for nearly two years -- is trying to rehabilitate his image and recapture the love:
Resigning County Judge Robert Eckels said Wednesday that he weighed not seeking re-election last year but worried that lame-duck status would hamper his efforts to help the area recover from the 2005 hurricane crises.
The hurricane emergency convinced him he should run, Eckels said in a meeting with the Houston Chronicle editorial board.
The judge, who is taking a job with the Fulbright & Jaworski law firm, has drawn criticism from stepping down so soon after being elected to a fourth term in November.
The area has recovered. And seriously -- lame-duck status? Leaders lead, whether they are lame ducks or not. (See Giuliani, Rudy, re: 11 September 2001).
This seems like obvious political spin concocted by Eckels and handlers to deflect what is legitimate criticism of the timing of his decision to leave public office to become a member of the lucrative pull-peddling industry. Eckels would probably be better served if he simply stopped digging what is becoming a deeper hole, but politicians who have been loved sometimes don't understand that.
The story goes on to make the following points:
Under federal ethics law, high-ranking administrators in federal government, members of Congress and their top staff are banned from lobbying their former departments or agencies for one year after leaving government.
The county has no similar revolving-door policy.
It may be time to consider one.
The county paid Fulbright $255,000 last year for work on bond transactions. Eckels said he wasn't hired to increase that business.
He declined to pledge that he would not be involved in Fulbright's county business in the next year, though he has no plans to do so.
Check that earlier uncertainty -- it definitely is time to consider a revolving-door policy.
BLOGVERSATION: Off the Kuff.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/22/07 07:49 AM | Print |
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