A few posts back I asked the question "Does Rick Lucas Want To Be A County Legislator?". Well the votes are in and the answer is a resounding NO. In fact barely had the votes been counted in his win over Joe Baruth in the District 8 Lewis County Legislative race when Lucas admitted in the Watertown Daily Times that he is interested in becoming Assemblyman for the122nd district, the seat now held by Dede Scozzafava. I reported that this was likely in my post and it has been reported to me that Lucas scoffed at my suggestion that he really was more interested in being an assemblyman than a county legislator. Watertown Mayor Jeff Graham reported yesterday on his blog that Lucas wants to run for Assembly and that Jefferson County Legislator Ken Blankenbush is also interested.
Lucas must not become an assemblyman. His time on the Lewis County Board of Legislators has been devoted to advancing his own private agendas. In my opinion he has demonstrated not even a remote understanding of ethics nor does he demonstrate any interest in the subject of ethics. He has refused to recuse himself from certain issues, even when the Lewis County Ethics Board has told him he should. He either doesn't understand the difference between abstaining and recusal or he doesn't care.
The cynic in me says, "Wow, he'll fit in with the rest of state government just fine " when I watch him thumb his nose at ethical concerns, but we can''t let cynicism rule our decision making.
Lucas can run if he wants to of course. However, he does need to improve his vocabulary. Run for Assembly or not, Mr. Lucas needs a tutorial on the definitions of "abstain" and "recusal".
