2008 Woodie Awards
Letter to the Editor
From impeachment to public office: how could it happen?
Wil Johnson
Issue date: 5/22/08 Section: Husky Voices
At first glance, you may find yourself thinking that could never happen, but it has. Let me explain.
Consider the case of Alcee Hastings. Hastings served as a federal court judge in Florida from 1979 to 1989. His term ended abruptly when he was impeached and removed from office for corruption and perjury related to a $150,000 bribe he was to receive for showing leniency in a court case. The Senate had the power to disqualify Hastings from ever seeking federal office again, but did not.
In 1992, Hastings was elected by Florida's 23rd district to serve in the United States House of Representatives. He is currently the senior member of the Committee on Rules and serves as chairman of the Legislative & Budget Process Subcommittee.
Hastings was the first African-American representative from Florida since the post-Civil War period. He has been an advocate for several issues which include creating tax incentives for small businesses, providing job training and reeducation for displaced workers, funding Head Start and other education programs.
Now this is just one example, but when you consider the House of Representatives has only moved seriously to impeach 18 officials in the more than 200 years since the Constitution was ratified, there are not many examples to choose from.
This brings me to our current situation where we have a person who was previously impeached, removed from office, and was successfully elected to a leadership position within ASUWT. How could it happen?
The Senate, as in the Hastings case, did not disqualify this person from seeking office in the future. Also, our current ASUWT constitution makes no mention of the Senate having the power to disqualify. Therefore, there was nothing that the Senate could do under its current governance to prevent this from happening. Which brings up the question should they have this power and how should they execute it?
I do believe that the Senate should have this power, but it should only be applied in extreme cases. This power should be reserved to acts which clearly show malicious intent, such as any illegal or immoral act or actions which may be considered detrimental to the interest of the student body.
Consider the case of Alcee Hastings. Hastings served as a federal court judge in Florida from 1979 to 1989. His term ended abruptly when he was impeached and removed from office for corruption and perjury related to a $150,000 bribe he was to receive for showing leniency in a court case. The Senate had the power to disqualify Hastings from ever seeking federal office again, but did not.
In 1992, Hastings was elected by Florida's 23rd district to serve in the United States House of Representatives. He is currently the senior member of the Committee on Rules and serves as chairman of the Legislative & Budget Process Subcommittee.
Hastings was the first African-American representative from Florida since the post-Civil War period. He has been an advocate for several issues which include creating tax incentives for small businesses, providing job training and reeducation for displaced workers, funding Head Start and other education programs.
Now this is just one example, but when you consider the House of Representatives has only moved seriously to impeach 18 officials in the more than 200 years since the Constitution was ratified, there are not many examples to choose from.
This brings me to our current situation where we have a person who was previously impeached, removed from office, and was successfully elected to a leadership position within ASUWT. How could it happen?
The Senate, as in the Hastings case, did not disqualify this person from seeking office in the future. Also, our current ASUWT constitution makes no mention of the Senate having the power to disqualify. Therefore, there was nothing that the Senate could do under its current governance to prevent this from happening. Which brings up the question should they have this power and how should they execute it?
I do believe that the Senate should have this power, but it should only be applied in extreme cases. This power should be reserved to acts which clearly show malicious intent, such as any illegal or immoral act or actions which may be considered detrimental to the interest of the student body.
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