Posted on 12/15/2005 12:56:59 PM PST by BellStar
Latonia Wilson says she was only trying to do something nice for jurors.
“I just thought it would be fun,” she said. “Especially at Christmastime.”
Ken Clark, though, thought it was an obvious effort to buy campaign materials with taxpayers’ money.
“I’m just amazed that she would even try it,” he said.
Wilson is a Democrat who will be seeking her second term next year as district clerk. Clark is a Republican who will be seeking a third term as Precinct 4 commissioner.
“Everything is going to be looked at politically,” Wilson said. “I’m not sure what the issue necessarily is. I have a place in my budget to pay for handouts for jurors, and this is all that was.”
She said she had checked with the state ethics commission and had been advised that the expenditure fell into a gray area.
“I thought I had done everything I needed to do,” she said.
Tim Sorrells, the commission’s deputy general counsel, said his office might well have issued such an opinion.
“We don’t have a case that directly addresses that question,” he said, “so what we would say in a case like that is that it would be an area to exercise caution. People call us wanting us to tell them it’s OK to do something, and in this case, we wouldn’t be able to say that.”
For Clark, the issue was not the least bit cloudy.
“Why do we need to give gifts to jurors?” he asked. “It’s campaigning. It’s got her name on it.”
The 3,500 pens carried a price tag of just under $1,400.
“If she wants to give them pens, why couldn’t she just go to the dime store and buy Bics?” he asked. “Or better yet, why didn’t she put my name on them? I’m running next year, too.”
Wilson said she would withdraw the request for county money and would pay for the pens out of campaign funds.
She said she might ask for a spot on a future commissioners court agenda so that she could explain what she had in mind. She said jurors didn’t get much in compensation for their service.
“We don’t even give them a good place to park,” she said. “Being on a jury is a civic duty, certainly, but it doesn’t hurt to be nice to them. A happy juror is a good juror.”
Waaaaaaah! I didn't think of it first!!! Waaaaaah!!!!
Why not just give them a pen that says, "Proud Juror 2005."
I guess that Wilson wanted to give jurors pens with her name on them, but it never states that explicitly.
This was a rhetorical question. Clark didn't really want pens with his name on them. He asked the question to demonstrate that the purpose of the pens was to promote Latonia Wilson using public money.
I know. I couldn't resist the cheap shot.
I'm bad that way...
"Trying to do something nice, especially at Christmastime" = a 40 cent ballpoint pen. What a cheapskate! Can you imagine the faces of her relatives, when they open their Christmas presents from Latonia?
FWIW, you can see the Galveston County District Clerk's website here.
Yes, definitely political in my opinion. Thankfully, she got caught.
Heads up!
Newspaper articles don't come with (/sarc) tags. :)
Because Wilson is a desperate Democrat incumbent and is trying anything to stay in office.
Having her name on a souvenir pen is a obvious campaign marketing ploy.
You might prefer to see one of her Republican challengers, John Ford's web site here:
http://www.johnford4districtclerk.com
No pen required. :)
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