To the editor: Double standards
As of Aug. 6 there have been no tweets calling for Householder to resign.
Sun, 09 Aug 2020 04:00:00 GMT
On July 1 Derek Merrin, Ohio state representative in District 47, sent out the following tweet: “The four City Council members should immediately resign. They have lost the public trust. The residents of Toledo, businesses, and our region should not have to endure one more day of them holding office.” When Mr. Merrin posted his indignant tweet, the above-mentioned Democratic council members had been charged with receiving a few thousand dollars in exchange for their votes but were not yet indicted.
On July 29, in an unrelated case, after a thorough investigation and review of the evidence, a federal grand jury indicted the speaker of the Ohio statehouse, Larry Householder — in what investigators said was a $61 million bribery scheme to pass a billion-dollar bailout for the Davis-Bessie nuclear power plant.
Given the gravity of this alleged crime, state representatives convened the very next day to consider Mr. Householder’s fate. He was promptly and unanimously removed as speaker.
However, on the follow up vote, which was to decide whether or not Mr. Householder should remain in office, Mr. Merrin and the Republican majority voted to keep him in office.
As of Aug. 6 there have been no tweets from Mr. Merrin calling for Mr. Householder to resign. This now paves the way for Mr. Householder to likely be re-elected in November, as he is running unopposed.
Mr. Merrin is also running for re-election in November. In District 47 do we want someone who employs double standards and shows a lack of concern for a highly tainted appropriation of $1 billion of taxpayers’ money to represent us for another two years?
BILL TUCHOLSKI
Monclova
Secure the election
President Trump has sent unidentified troops in unmarked vehicles, like secret police, to cities governed by Democrats. He has heaped doubt upon the security of mail-in voting — while presenting no evidence of material election fraud in America. Meanwhile, his new Postmaster General has directed the United States Postal Service to lower its performance standards, further weakening public confidence.
Worse, the President has threatened not to accept the results of the November election, and has even suggested delaying it for the first time in the nation’s history.
If the election is close and the count is slow, one can easily imagine both the President’s supporters and his opponents taking to the streets, with a high probability of violence.
It is urgent that legislators of both parties, in both houses right now say loudly and in a single voice that any attempt by this or any other president to damage the integrity of America’s elections will be met with immediate impeachment and removal.
It is vital that Congress, with a veto-proof bipartisan majority, immediately provide the states with the resources needed to conduct the safest, fairest, speediest elections possible. Voting — early, on Election Day, and by mail — must everywhere be easy and safe. Congress must make sure that the postal service has ample support for its vital role in our election process. The tallying of votes must be thorough, secure, and credible, even if not possible overnight.
If we allow the November election to degenerate into chaos, none of us will like the results.
MICHAEL EHRICK
West Toledo
Committee Chair Ohio Representative Derek Merrin.