Incumbents’ attendance deserves voter attention
Filing began this week for candidates planning to seek county and legislative offices, and as we said Sunday, it’s time for voters to start paying attention if they have not already. One especially important area to include in the evaluation of candidates is how much attention incumbents have paid to their current position.
Many times in these types of races, the power of incumbency is enough to win or, in some cases, chase potential challengers away. But incumbents have a record to run on and a story in Monday’s Daily Herald showed that record is not always a good one. An analysis by the Better Government Association, written by BGA investigator Andrew Schroedter, revealed that five of the 18 DuPage County Board members missed about a third of the board and committee meetings held in the first nine months of 2011.
Before we move to our criticism, we must discount many of the meetings missed by board member J.R. McBride. The Glen Ellyn Republican had July surgery to remove a brain tumor and has been in recovery. Still, McBride understands that unless there is a medical reason, missing meetings is not the sign of a dedicated lawmaker.
“For as much money as we get paid, we need to be there,” McBride said. “Unless you’re sick or whatnot, you shouldn’t be missing meetings. It becomes offensive to other members if you’re not putting in the time.”
And it should be offensive to voters as well. It is to us.
McBride, despite missing about 33 percent of the meetings, wasn’t the worst. The worst was Anthony Michelassi, an Aurora Democrat, who attended just 59 of a possible 95 meetings for an attendance rate of 62 percent. An illness? Some other personal issue that might explain it?
Nope. Apparently not. In fact, Michelassi refused to explain it. “I got nothing to say about that,” was his response to the BGA. He must feel that his constituents have no concerns about environmental or public transit issues as he did not attend a single meeting of those two committees he allegedly serves on during the time studied. Not one.
And what of Rita Gonzalez, an Addison Democrat? She attended just 67.9 percent of her meetings. She’s just too busy to get to Wheaton, the county seat.
“It’s not a reflection of the job I’m doing,” she said. “I’m running myself ragged.”
Lest Democrats get a bad rap on the GOP-dominated board, Dirk Enger, a Winfield Democrat, had the best attendance record at 94.7 percent.
While the BGA analyzed only DuPage County, voters, the media and watchdog groups should look at attendance by candidates elsewhere as well to determine whether the proper level of commitment is apparent. Anyone who intends to be a public servant needs to serve in public. That means attending required meetings, voting on important issues and explaining one’s positions.