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First Posted: 3/1/2013 Former state legislators should not become staffers
As the current state representative of the 112th District, I write in response to a recent editorial in another paper calling for a two-year prohibition on any former member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly being hired as a legislative staffer.
Although I agree with the merit of the paper&#8217;s opinion, I say, why wait?
Pennsylvanians lose hope in our political system when voters essentially fire an elected official, only to see that person land an equal or better job because of the relationships they have built in Harrisburg.
In a short time since taking office, I also have come to respect certain leaders, and do my best to learn every day from seasoned members of the House of Representatives and Senate. Regardless, I don&#8217;t have to wait around to introduce or support legislation calling for a two-year prohibition of lawmakers working for their former colleagues.
As a leading reformer of government at all levels and an elected official who only answers to the tax payers, I pledge to immediately end the &#8220;tradition&#8221; of representatives from the 112th Legislative District working for the Democratic Caucus in Harrisburg after leaving office.
Senator John McCain once campaigned for president on a bus called &#8220;The Straight Talk Express.&#8221; His philosophy was simple. He believed in answering questions before they were asked.
So allow me to take a page from the good senator and make it crystal clear that I will never work toward a job outside of Lackawanna County, when my home county is in critical condition, crippled with the highest unemployment in the state.
If I can give the people of Northeast Pennsylvania any sense of hope let me offer some straight talk of my own: I will never work for the Democratic caucus upon leaving my elected post.
I get along with many of the leaders in Harrisburg and will work next to them on certain issues. However, I will not give away the greatest honor a public servant can have: the trust of those who want to believe in something better. I believe we can put more people to work if we give the unemployment in our community our complete attention, and I believe I can fight harder for the unemployed, if I use straight talk instead of a personal game plan.
State Rep. Kevin Haggerty
D-Lackawanna

Mailbag/Letters to the editor