A shame to behold

In the space of a month, two St. Lawrence County legislators have committed public blunders that reflect nearly as poorly on the Legislature as they do on the two elected officials involved.

On Sept. 21, Daniel J. Girard ran into the parked car of fellow legislator Laura Perry (remember this name). Then, instead of doing the right thing and reporting what he did, Mr. Girard left the parking lot, went across the street to another lot, parked, and tried to act as though nothing had happened. Sadly for him, there were witnesses more than eager to tell authorities what they saw.

Mr. Girard was ticketed — and scolded — by Canton police. Three days later, he offered a nearly tearful mea culpa, admitting he was wrong to have lied to a police officer who questioned him about the minor accident.

Now, Mrs. Perry herself is under the gun for using a bulk mailing permit paid for by the Potsdam Chamber of Commerce to send out Teamsters Union campaign material for her husband, who is running for office in an upcoming union election.

One of her husband's opponents is claiming that action violates the Landrum-Griffin Act, although it isn't certain that's true. What IS true, however, is that anyone with enough sense to function as a county legislator ought to have enough sense not to take any actions that would appear to interfere with an independent union election — whether or not that legislator's spouse is involved.

Mr. Girard acted like a cad when he hit someone else's car and absconded. He compounded that by lying to police. A mouthful of apology doesn't change the facts here — he did it, and he lied about doing it.

Mrs. Perry has avoided at least part of Mr. Girard's discomfort — she denies there is anything wrong with what she did. But...if she were not a county legislator, would the Chamber have been so willing to let her use its bulk-mail permit for what is clearly not Chamber business? The Chamber should not be lending its name to partisan politics, whether it be county politics or union elections. Mrs. Perry either didn't consider this — or just didn't care.

There used to be a hope that public officials would hold themselves to a higher standard, have an understanding that even the perception of unethical behavior can taint an official body. That hope is apparently of little concern for at least some legislators in St. Lawrence County. And what a shame that is.