[Vision2020] The right time to consider a voter recall

[Tom Hansen]

I don't mean to "dredge" this up, but . . .

Courtesy of today's (December 14, 2013) Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

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The right time to consider a voter recall

It's a safe bet voters in District 15 of Idaho had no inkling of Matt Patterson's past when they elected the now 61 year old to office in 2012.
If they had, the odds of Patterson making it out of the primary round would have been rather low.
Somehow, however, Patterson was elected without having any of his dirty laundry aired out in the public arena. His alleged past transgressions only came to light within the past month when the Ada County sheriff did some digging and found Patterson had failed to disclose a guilty plea in a 1974 case when applying for a concealed weapons permit.
Here's a little background on Patterson:
Patterson, 21 at the time, was charged with forcible rape in May 1974. The victim, then a 46-year-old mother of five, told police Patterson forced her to have sex twice and threatened to have his dog attack her if she refused. Patterson agreed to plead guilty to a lesser assault with intent charge, receiving a withheld judgment and five years' probation.
According to the Idaho Statesman, a polygraph found Patterson "was untruthful" and concluded he "did threaten the young lady in question with his dog and caused her to be fearful for her safety if she had not submitted herself to him sexually." Patterson, though, told the Statesman he doesn't remember that night, attributing the convenient loss of memory to chemotherapy treatment in 2003.
In July 1977, Patterson was charged in Ohio with rape "by means of forcibly choking and threatening" the life of a woman. He was acquitted.
In 2007 and 2012, Patterson allegedly falsified his application for a concealed weapons license when he failed to disclose his guilty plea in Tampa.
Also according to the Statesman, after being elected in 2012, Patterson acknowledged his campaign website mistakenly said he was a petroleum engineer and had attended the University of Southern California. His claim of being a "professional road-racing cyclist" also was disputed in an Associated Press article.
It appears Idaho's Republican party will be asking Patterson to resign his post in the coming days, but should he refuse, the only way to remove him from office before the end of this term will be by a voter recall election. While Patterson may not have a track record of doing the right thing, he should step aside and fade away. If he doesn't, we're sure the voters will happily send him packing.
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Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
http://www.MoscowCares.com
  
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"There's room at the top they are telling you still 
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill 
If you want to be like the folks on the hill."

- John Lennon
 

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