Here are excerpts from recent editorials in Arkansas newspapers:
Log Cabin Democrat, March 8, 2014
Maggio should step down now
It surprised no one that following a week of turmoil, Circuit Judge Mike Maggio pulled out of the race for the Arkansas Court of Appeals. What does surprise us, however, is why Maggio is still sitting in his current seat.
Maybe it’s not that surprising. In the statement given by Maggio announcing his intention to drop out of the May election, he cites a “lapse in personal judgement,” but quickly followed it up blaming the “politics of personal destruction” for his decision. That’s code for “if they didn’t catch me, you guys would still think I was awesome.”
Let’s sum up how Maggio did get caught. The judge was outed making comments that were highly offensive to homosexuals, women and minorities on an LSU fan message board under the pseudonym “geauxjudge.” Maggio also acknowledged that he revealed information of an adoption proceeding in Faulkner County involving actress Charlize Theron. Rule No. 1 is that all adoptions are to remain confidential and kept from public viewing.
The comments, which may have numbered in the hundreds, were quickly deleted, but not before state blogger Matt Campbell connected the dots and posted his findings. This was quickly followed by the beginning of an investigation by the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission. That, in turn, was followed by Maggio stating no knowledge of an investigation and then a sort-of mea culpa in his most recent statement.
Maggio said, “The comments posted were not acceptable. These comments are not a reflection of who I am.” Here’s the thing, Mike, they are exactly a reflection of who you are. They may not be the complete picture, but this wasn’t a hastily written one-off. These were at least dozens of comments given by someone who is supposed to command the respect of those who placed him in that position.
More than our other elected offices, judges hold places of honor, because they maintain order without theatrics, objectivity in the face of politically charged winds and the ability to do what is in the best interest for all parties involved. When we stand before a judge, in whatever circumstance, we instantly should be respectful, but we should also feel safe. We should know that this person will use the law for good. And we should know that judges will extend their behavior beyond the courtroom.
This isn’t the first time Maggio has breached ethics in his position. He previously took campaign funds and used them for personal income in 2008. But this is a bigger problem because it calls into question how he approaches his job.
The Commission certainly has the power to remove him from the bench following its investigation. There is also the possibility of not allowing him to run for a judgeship again.
But after constantly doing the wrong thing, Maggio should do the right thing and step down now. That could also be a reflection of who he is.
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Southwest Times Record, March 9, 2014
Happy medium missing in initiative process
Often in car accidents, it’s not the original misjudgment that causes the harm; it’s the overcorrection for the mistake that causes injury.
It can be the same case for legislation. Consider the corrective action taken by the 89th General Assembly to what are politely called “irregularities” in the signature-gathering for two 2012 ballot proposals.
Citizens in Arkansas have the right, granted in Article 5 of the state constitution, to propose legislative measures. In practice, citizens wishing to do so jump a fair number of hurdles before a proposal gets on the ballot, including getting a ballot title certified and collecting thousands of signatures from people who say they want a chance to vote on the issue.
In advance of the 2012 election, the Arkansas secretary of state’s office determined that 70 percent of signatures submitted in support of placing on the ballot a proposal to increase the state’s severance tax and a proposal to legalize casino gambling were invalid.
Among the “irregularities” were suspected forged signatures and multiple - more than 40 - signatures from the same person, according to an Arkansas News Bureau report in the Oct. 29, 2012, Times Record.
Sen. Johnny Key, R-Mountain Home, requested an interim study into the issue before the 2013 legislative session started. At that time, Sen. Key said he anticipated minor changes in rules on signature-gathering.
“It’s not going to be a complete overhaul,” he told the news bureau.
Flash forward a year and a half, and that’s not the way Paul Spencer, president of Regnat Populus, and Neil Sealy, executive director of Arkansas Community Organizations, see it.
Mr. Spencer and Mr. Sealy have challenged the restrictions added to the ballot initiative process by the 2013 Legislature.
Represented by the Arkansas Public Law Center and the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, the two challenge the constitutionality of Act 1413, believing it presents a sometimes insurmountable hurdle for citizen petitions.
The new law requires, among other things, that the name, address and recent photo of every paid canvasser be provided to the secretary of state; that an entire page of signatures be invalidated if part of it is defective; that canvassers sign an affidavit stating their addresses are correct; that all signers print their own names, addresses and birth dates; that a canvasser who prints that information on behalf of a signer is committing a Class A misdemeanor.
Last week, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Mary McGowan expressed her agreement with Mr. Spencer and Mr. Sealy by granting a preliminary injunction to stop the secretary of state from enforcing the new law.
In an 11-page ruling, Judge McGowan stated, “The effects of Act 1413 are crushing to the citizens rather than the special interests who always seem to have the money to further their goals.”
Attorney General Dustin McDaniel’s office said it was considering its options in the wake of the decision, and speculated the case ultimately would be decided in the state’s Supreme Court.
It’s a case of overcorrection. Two well-financed ballot initiatives used canvassers who, allegedly, took shortcuts with the process. Now, true grassroots organizations with limited resources have found the rules for getting an issue on the ballot are, in Judge McGowan’s words, “crushing.”
It should be possible to find a middle ground that discourages lazy or fraudulent behavior without making the democratic process impossible. It should be.
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Texarkana Gazette, March 9, 2014
Abandoned hazards
Last week, a piece of Arkansas history went up in flames.
The oldest building of the Majestic Hotel and Spa, which opened in 1893, caught on fire and burned into the next day. Firefighters battled the blaze, but the old hotel could not saved.
The Majestic was quite a place in its day. Celebrities such as Babe Ruth enjoyed its accommodations as well as the natural hot spring water baths.
The springs_thought to help with a variety of ills_brought many tourists to Hot Springs. But just as many came for the gambling_legal at the racetrack and illegal but tolerated at the city’s many casinos and bookmaking parlors. And a good number of those tourists filled the rooms at the Majestic. Business was so good the hotel expanded, adding an eight story addition in 1926 and a nine-story modern tower in 1963.
After a crackdown on gambling in the 1960s, the Majestic’s fortunes began to change. The hotel went into a decline, finally closing in 2006.
As with many abandoned buildings, the owners did not keep the place up. It deteriorated rapidly. Although there was talk of restoring and repurposing the hotel, it never came to be. Now the original “yellow-brick” portion of the hotel has been demolished in the wake of the fire. The future of rest of the hotel is anyone’s guess.
Which brings us to a similar situation in Texarkana.
We have a couple of historic hotels_the Grim and the McCartney_that have been abandoned and falling apart for years. We hear talk of restoration. Grand plans indeed. But nothing ever seems to come of them.
Meanwhile the windows are broken, dangerous debris falls to sidewalks from time to time, and the homeless regularly break in to find shelter from the elements. There has already been at least one fire in the Grim. These structures are hazards. They have been hazards for a long time.
Owners have a responsibility to maintain the safety of their buildings. Cities have a responsibility to ensure they do.
But that didn’t happen with the Majes-tic in Hot Springs. And it’s not happening here.
There are other rundown buildings in town, to be sure. But none so large and so obvious as the Grim and the McCartney.
We know many residents feel a great affection and sense of nostalgia for the two hotels. We do, too. But that should not blind us to practicalities.
It’s time the city demanded action. Either maintain the buildings or take them down. The longer they sit abandoned, the more they deteriorate, the more dangerous they become to the public.
We should learn a lesson from last week’s fire in Hot Springs. The same thing could happen here.
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