Wednesday, March 27, 2013

It's Time (to Let Him Go).

After two months of salacious drama and deferred action, the Steven Brooks scandal may finally come to an end... At least for the Nevada Legislature. The special Assembly committee set up to handle this situation voted to expel Steven Brooks from the Legislature last night.

"I take no pleasure in making this motion," Assemblyman Lynn Stewart, R-Henderson, said, before moving to recommend expulsion. "I do it for the good of the Legislature, and I hope the good of Mr. Brooks." [...]

“We all labored over this,” Assembly Minority Leader Pat Hickey, R-Reno, said. “Is there a way to find help for Assemblyman Brooks, who, it would appear to us and, I believe most of the public believes, is someone who needs help.” [...]

Assembly Majority Leader William Horne, D-Las Vegas, said the evidence presented convinced him that Brooks is “unfit to serve.”

“It made me sad,” Horne said of the details of special counsel Mark Ferrario’s investigation. “What I read was not reflective of the man I’ve grown to know.

“As his friend, I am glad those documents are confidential.”

The committee ultimately voted 6-1 to expel Brooks. Assembly Member Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas) was the sole vote against expulsion. She said she preferred temporary suspension.

The rest, however, did not. And now, this goes to the full Assembly for consideration. A 2/3 supermajority will be necessary to ultimately expel Brooks.

Frankly, the time has come for this. It's become increasingly clear that Steven Brooks has "issues". And it's become increasingly clear that those "issues" won't be solved in the Nevada Legislature. Brooks likely needs professional help. It's time for the Legislature to let him go so he can access the treatment he needs.

And regardless of what one thinks of Brooks, the Nevada Legislature doesn't need to be bogged down any more by this distraction. It's time to let Brooks go. Hopefully, the full Assembly will agree to a final resolution to this sorry scandal.

No comments:

Post a Comment