Just saw this Arkansas Democrat-Gazette quote on the future of the Lt. Gov. Mark Darr’s $250,000 staff when the office is no longer occupied.
Senate President Pro Tempore Michael Lamoureux, R-Russellville, says he expects Darr’s four staff members to continue to work in the office.
“They are there to serve to the people of Arkansas. They aren’t there to serve Mark Darr,” Lamoureux says. “They get requests and constituent calls.”
You gotta be kidding me.
1) The state taxpayer need not provide a four-person staff to handle requests of a person who doesn’t exist.
2) A person who doesn’t exist has no constituents.
This is Republican boodling, no more or less. A quarter-of-a-million deadheading, featherbedding, welfare checks to people who happen to be part of the Republican coterie, notably Rep. Duncan Baird’s father-in-law, Bruce Campbell, at the top of the heap. Imagine if a Democrat tried this with bulldog Bryan King running the Legislative Audit SWAT Team.
The last time I FOI’d e-mail to Darr’s office about public input on whether he should resign or not, I think I got a grand total of two e-mails. For this, taxpayers must pay $250,000? It was a waste when he actually held the office.