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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2010 > February > 25
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Editorial: Councilman can’t serve Huber in Iraq
For someone who isn’t actually here, Huber Heights City Councilman Brian Walton just won’t go away.
Mr. Walton, who works for a private company that supports the Air Force, is interested in working overseas. He also wants to serve on city council in Huber Heights. The two are mutually exclusive. He is in denial when he insists he can do both.
Mr. Walton was first appointed to council in January of 2009, filling a seat vacated when Seth Morgan was elected to the state legislature. A short time later, Mr. Walton made it known that his job would require him to relocate to Iraq for a year, beginning in June 2009. When he left, council stripped him of his seat under a rule that kicks in after three unexcused absences. Mr. Walton is still in Iraq, currently just more than halfway through his assignment that ends this June.
But there’s a twist that has brought the issue around again. In November, Mr. Walton ran for, and was actually elected to, the seat he was removed from, and he was sworn in as a city councilman while still in Iraq last month. He was elected easily over the man council appointed to replace him — attorney Tyler Starline — with 75 percent of the vote. (Mr. Starline was handicapped because he was a write-in candidate.)
On Monday, city council voted again to remove Mr. Walton for unexcused absences. Mr. Walton argues that he is being treated unfairly because, while not in uniform, he is serving his country in a civilian support role at a time of war. If he were a uniformed soldier, he says, nobody would push for his removal. His election strengthens his argument, since presumably such a large percentage of voters who picked him included a fair number who knew the situation and voted for him anyway.
But there is a nagging disconnect in Mr. Walton’s actions. The decision to seek public office necessarily should require a serious self-appraisal and blunt questions to oneself about what is most important in life.
Every potential candidate for public office wrestles with these issues. Choosing to run for a city council seat, by its nature, means also choosing to spend less time and effort elsewhere, whether it be with family, on hobbies or at a job.
It’s honorable that Mr. Walton genuinely wants to serve on council, just as his commitment to his work in support of the U.S. military is to be commended. But he simply cannot be in two places at once.
The people Mr. Walton was elected to represent deserve just that — representation. If he cannot provide that service at this time, he shouldn’t be on council.
A day presumably will come when Mr. Walton’s professional commitments will no longer require long stretches outside the country, Mr. Walton can always re-engage at that time. In the meantime, he should let others better positioned to help manage the city fill the post.
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