Impressions of two town hall meetings.

Yesterday, I was privileged to go to both 18th District town hall meetings; one in Battle Ground and one in Camas.

The legislators were there: two of them actually working for us... one, not so much.

Sen. Ann Rivers has done a brilliant job since she was first on the legislative scene: she accomplished more in her first year as a representative than that empty-suited clown she replaced has in the entirety of her abortive, moronic, elective career.

She is leading the way on attacking the horrific, corrupted theft of the CRC scam.  She has had more bills signed into law than Herrera has practically dropped.

Rep. Liz Pike has exceeded my every expectation.  I was initially not impressed and actually opposed her decision to run for the seat in the 18th.

I was wrong.  Dead wrong.

In my six years on legislative staff, I observed a varied array of legislative talent.  From the completely moronic to the brilliant... from those without morality to those who were incorruptible... from those afraid of their own shadow to those fearless in the pursuit of their representation of the people who put them into office.

Both Sen. Rivers and Rep. Pike are among the best I have EVER seen.  Both of them have that almost undefinable something that sets them apart from most of the rest of the herd.

I frequently view legislators through my own filter that's really quite simple:  I ask myself if I would do anything different.

When it comes to these two, I rarely answer "yes."

I don't always agree with their decisions.  But I am unfettered by having to answer to anyone in politics or deal with a frequently dysfunctional leadership.

That leaves Brandon Vick.

And at town hall meetings, two of our legislators talked about what they were doing.

One legislator talked about what he was watching others do.

I cannot adequately express my disappointment in Brandon Vick. He is wasting OUR time sitting in and doing essentially nothing in OUR seat.

He is everything I was concerned  he would be... and less:

I like Brandon as an individual.  He has a small business background, works on the family landscaping business. 

In 2010, when Brandon ran for the seat ultimately won in a hard-fought battle by Rep. Ann Rivers, Brandon had a difficult time working the campaign.  It was difficult, as I understand it, because of family concerns related to business; he had to work very hard during the day and then campaign when he could.

He had a difficult time raising money, putting just over $4400 together for his effort,  and received 5.9% of the vote in the primary, coming in fifth in a field of eight.

He went on to become Chair of the Clark County GOP in December of 2010.

That night, I asked Brandon if he could do something that other chairs had apparently found impossible:

Address the pre-packaged, looks-like-it-was-slammed-together-by-an-8th-grader-for-a-class-project GOP website that utterly pales in comparison to the democrat website, and:

Restart the newsletter... which hasn't been published in years... also handled neatly by the democrats.

SIX years, to be precise.

I've asked him about it a time or two.  I was told something was being done.... but... well...

No change.

Strike One.

The Clark County Convention was a disaster of epic proportions... for which Brandon both IS responsible, and to his credit, took responsibility.

Nevertheless, it showed a pattern of failure, a pattern of inability to anticipate the issues confronting arguably the largest Convention in this county's political history, save for the state convention.

It was a total failure.

Strike Two.

The mishandling of the Boldt debacle and the subsequent publicity.

Brandon was quoted repeatedly by the Columbian.

The Columbian is not our friend.  As a result, Brandon's ONLY comment to the Columbian about the Boldt matter should have been "no comment."

The GOP is not a public organization.  The more Brandon talked, the more the cancer on our community was able, since they were already most willing, to poke our party's entrails with a stick.

Brandon failed to recognize he was being played.  He failed to understand that the Columbian is not interested in accuracy or facts; they're only interested in protecting their token, for their agenda alleged Republican.

Strike Three.

You're out.

In the past, party chairmanships have been a launching pad for political careers.

It's also been a wrecking yard for some.

When added to the fact that Brandon is about to become a brand new father for the first time... and to campaign, by definition, will take every waking moment... as will the next legislative session, as far as that goes... one wonders:  Why would he leave his wife and baby home alone?  How can he discharge his family responsibilities and obligations sitting in interminable meetings in Olympia with his family... his wife... his newborn baby... home... alone.... day after day.... night after night?

This is a tough situation for Brandon... very tough.  He wants to be a politician and a legislator so bad that he'll do almost anything to achieve it.

Except in this case, the cost is just too high... he loves his wife and baby too much... and his vision is clouded by those with an ulterior motive who don't care what the cost is to Brandon personally.

The things I hear about him literally sicken me. He's said some things, done some things, missed some things that make it clear that he never should have become a state representative.  He's failed to take the lead on anything that I'm aware of, and his claim to freshman status does not excuse that.

His decision to fail to introduce any legislation was a decision, I believe, based entirely on his desire to reduce his work load.  And that's not what we sent him up there for.

At the end of the day, we would be better served if someone else was sitting in that seat... and I mean to do everything I can to see that happen.