RECALL ELECTIONS PROPER FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS

Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg is an elected two-term official who also oversees the Texas public integrity unit.  She was convicted of a DWI charge and was quite belligerent.  She served a 45 day jail term.  Gov. Rick Perry ordered her to resign, and, when she wouldn't, the Governor vetoed $7.5 of funding for the state's public integrity unit.  While it looks bad to close the state's public integrity unit, I presume that governors can veto a bill for any reason they want to.  So I suspect the the charge of abuse of power will be overturned.

I don't like the courts getting more and more involved in our politics.  It seems to me though that the proper action for Perry against an elected official would be to promote a recall election.  If the voters of county feel that a DWI warrants a recall of one of their elected officials, then she would be out.  Or they could have waited for the next election and vote her out.  Actually, Lehmberg has said she would not run for a third term.

If voters don't like Perry's veto, they too could pursue a recall election.  In view of Perry's popularity in Texas, I presume he would prevail in a recall election, but that is beside the point.  I believe recall elections are the way to go with elected officials, not the courts.  The alternative is to wait for the next election and vote the bum out.

A famous recall election of a governor was that of "Gray" Davis in California who was elected to a second tern, only to be recalled less than a year later.  An unsuccessful recall was Wisconsin governor Scott Walker.