“You know as well as I, there is no justice in politics.” – The Crown
I can’t decide if I should be insulted or impressed when our public office holders decide to file their candidacy for a new government job because they’ve reached the term limit in their current office.
I’m all for term limits for public office, but I believe similar limits should also be placed on public officeholders’ careers in local government. After a certain amount of years in office – eight? 12? 15? I don’t know – they should find another line of work or serve the public in another way.
Taxpayers deserve new blood, new ideas, new faces in public office.
On one hand, I understand that some government employees truly enjoy serving the public in any capacity. They view themselves as true public servants, not true politicians. It’s the difference between a public oath and a personal agenda, I say.
They want to make a career out of it — literally. I get it.
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On the other hand, I know that some public office-holders will do about anything to keep getting a paycheck from taxpayers, along with many other benefits, including health insurance.
I once called this all-too-common practice “Philpot-ing,” named after Thomas Philpot, the former Lake County government official who jumped from office to office. He also ran unsuccessfully for Lake County sheriff, though he wasn’t a police officer. He was a podiatrist, an attorney, and a longtime government employee.
In 2013, the former county clerk and county coroner was sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing thousands of dollars in public child support incentive funds he controlled. When Philpot was sentenced, senior U.S. District Court Judge James Moody said all the evidence against him summed up his “arrogance, greed and a warped sense of entitlement.”
This also describes a few other public officeholders through the decades who’ve been politically guided by a similar warped sense of entitlement. They have obviously learned how to work the system and they arrogantly stride through the public office turnstile on their way to another government job.
It doesn’t matter if they’re undeserving or uneducated or unaware of public perception of such practices.
So I’ve been reading with interest, if not amusement, about each new wave of candidate filings for the May 8 Democratic and Republican primary elections. The deadline is Feb. 9 in Lake County, and candidates from all walks of life are maneuvering for position.
Who else has filed? How do they stack up against their challengers? Are they a lock for that office or will a truly worthy contender file before Feb. 9? These are the questions they’re asking themselves and their supporters.
In Lake County especially, it’s not what you know, but who you know. Political party support is crucial. Public support is helpful.
I can always tell when election season arrives. I hear from candidates who would otherwise be off my radar. I also get more “friend” requests on my social media sites. Politics makes perfect strangers pretend to be longtime friends. I find this social lubricant fascinating, though I rarely drink it.
Last week, I visited the Lake County Public Library for a column on reference librarians, and I bumped into retired Lake Circuit Court Judge Lorenzo Arredondo. I figured he was enjoying his retirement by checking out a few books on fly-fishing or exotic travel.
Nope. He was campaigning for the county clerk job. I’m not very politically astute, but I was still surprised by his interest in this clerk’s position. I guess it could be a good thing to have a retired judge in that office. But my immediate question is always, “Why”?
Why do people file for these governmental jobs and, let’s be honest, for these highly political positions? What’s their motivation? Is it for personal power and control or for public altruism and servitude? Our task as voters is to decipher which one it is and go from there.
I should have been surprised when disgraced Lake County Councilman Jamal Washington filed for the Lake County Board of Commissioners. But I wasn’t.
Washington is currently facing new domestic violence charges, following a previous incident of battery against his wife in 2015. While awaiting a hearing on any violations of his probation, and possible jail time, he decided to throw his hat in the ring for one of the county’s top jobs.
I wonder how many thousands of votes he will likely get.
The race for Lake County sheriff is historically the most crowded, and usually the most intriguing. This upcoming primary race is no different with several familiar names, including outgoing Lake County Clerk Michael A. Brown, former Schererville Police Chief David Dowling, and Richard Ligon, who’s making his third run for that office.
I first met current Sheriff Oscar Martinez when he ran for that office in 2010. He told me squarely, “I am not a politician, I am a police officer.”
It sounded refreshing, meaning he wasn’t into cronyism, the good ol’ boys’ club, and politics as usual. I was happy when he finally got his long-coveted job late last year.
But politics has a way of seeping into every governmental job, and every race, which is why voters are so skeptical of some public office-holders and their intentions.
After the 2010 May primary for Lake County sheriff, Philpot had to apologize to election board officials for allegedly allowing his campaign workers to mail postcards stating public support from two county officials who, ahem, didn’t offer such support.
Who was the public office-holder who won that election and who publicly and self-righteously demanded an apology from Philpot? John Buncich.
jdavich@post-tribcom
Twitter@jdavich
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