Why we need to make it possible for librarians to run for public office.

[ehrnst]

<snip>Kelly McDaniel is a part-time librarian at King Middle School -- and a very good one at that.

She drove to Augusta with her 11-year-old daughter, Aedin, in tow because Aedin is on King Middle School's debate team, loves politics and dutifully met her mother's condition that she write a letter to each of her teachers explaining why listening to her mom testify at a state budget hearing was at least as important as a day in school....

She told the committee that she recently won a national "I Love My Librarian" Award from the Carnegie Corp. and The New York Times -- an honor that included a check, made out to McDaniel, for $5,000.

"I plan to report that money on my income tax and I expect to pay taxes on it," she told the lawmakers. "Even though I donated the money in its entirety to the public middle school where I work." </snip>

She went on to talk about taxes as "dues" for the many good things that her community provides - education, health and safety, arts and recreation, even if she doesn't benefit personally from all of it.


http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/03/09-6

[LARED]

1. Is there any reason a librarian can't run for public office? nt

[taterguy]

2. Yes. Their campaign rallies are boring because they just go around shushing people

[toddwv]

3. In WV, state employees can't run for office.

It was perfectly ok for coal company execs to run though...

Sounds a bit backwards.

[Pacifist Patriot]

5. Wow, I never realized some states had that prohibition.

I can be pretty naive sometimes though.

[Recursion]

6. It's one of those things that makes sense in principle but works out stupidly in practice

I mean, I get that there are professional and political public employees and it's important to maintain that distinction, so I see where that rule is coming from. But, come on.

[LARED]

7. Never heard of that; sounds fairly dumb.

Thanks for the info

[toddwv]

9. Yeah, it does sound dumb.

I suspect that its primary purpose is to keep educators out of political power. God forbid if a state, particularly this state, would actually focus on education.

[Pacifist Patriot]

4. My guess? Their coffers aren't full enough.

[speltwon]

8. In my state even cops can run for public office

A local cop ran for and won mayorship of a nearby city. Since he wasn't policing in that city, there was no conflict and he served his term. I have no idea if STATE employees are prohibited from doing so, but local (city, county) aren't, at least not in my area.

Also, aren't most librarians city or county? They are here. Libraries are county based, not state based in most locations I've seen