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Corruption breeds post election angst

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The days are racing by like the entire universe is suffering a severe case of attention deficit disorder.

The destructive wind storms last week made me forget about the economic crises at the state and federal levels. The unexpected news Monday of the arrest of Gallatin County Sheriff Raymond Martin made me forget about the storms.

I thought this week was going to be a quiet one.

People apparently much more in-the-know than me have been saying Martin's arrest came as no surprise. Well, to me it was a surprise. My primary involvement with Martin was phone conversations about vehicle wrecks and I trusted him to give me accurate information. I had no inkling this week he would be accused by the feds of selling the marijuana out of his evidence locker.

Of course it is in a healthy human's nature to believe the best about other people, until they have given us reason to distrust them. Martin always was cooperative with me, when I could get hold of him.

That's not to say I had not caught wind of rumblings of corruption in the Gallatin County Sheriff's Department. But when you hear the rumor the sheriff is selling drugs from a teenage hooligan and pathological liar and hear the rumor second-hand at that, the statement is easy to dismiss. And if you believe every rumor you hear in our area then every law enforcement and court official must be dirty, nearly as dirty as the newspaper reporter that keeps names of allies out of the Page 2A Blotter.

If only the local busy bodies would check to see their potentially libelous information is correct before spreading it to the next busy body, a reporter would lend a little more credence to their chatter.

The arrest is shocking, but not necessarily because of the nature of the crime of which Martin has been accused. The crime of marijuana dealing is, basically, victimless. Yes, the argument can be made the drug is a gateway drug for much more harmful habits. And activities that surround the buying and selling of the drug can involve crimes that harm other people. Martin is accused in court documents of threatening the life of his partner turned informant.

What is shocking and sickening about the arrest is that Martin is a person trusted enough to have been elected to a position of county leadership. If the charges are true, then how can we be sure the man has not disrupted or destroyed lives of those who have stood in his corrupt path over the course of his 19-year reign of sheriff?

If the charges are true, the people of Gallatin County have elected an outlaw to protect them, an outlaw who values his own economic interest over the safety and security of his electorate.

Electing corrupt politicians is nothing new in government. We don't have to be reminded again our previous two governors have been arrested for taking kickbacks for favors. But most shocking of all is the realization the corrupt men who may cause us suffering with their selfish policies would not be in office if we had not put them there. And some pundit is always too eager to point that fact out to us. When I hear phrases like, "You can't complain because you elected him," I assume that person is setting up a defense, because he assumes he is next in the firing line.

I can't recall the author, but he wrote a book that was one long, nearly incomprehensible poem of word puzzles. One memorable line was, "You are bad. I love you. Therefore I am bad."

The author was a psychologist and he intended his verse to emulate the thought process of a schizophrenic.

The chance of electing a corrupt person to a position of control keeps me cynical about the democratic process. I've skipped election day more times than I've participated in it. I can't stand the idea of thinking one day, "You are corrupt. I voted for you. Therefore I am corrupt."

Neither can any of us fully trust the election process. Look at the debacle in the County Clerk's Office this year when absentee votes from Carrier Mills and Galatia failed to be added to the final tally.

This mistake resulted in Ronnie Bond being certified as a member and president of the Galatia Board of Education when Eric Gates was the higher vote getter. However, because the board had been legally certified prior to the county clerk finding the mistake, the board and its members exist as a legal public body, able to make decisions on spending the money of those who elected them. It does not apparently matter that Bond was found later to have been improperly elected.

Gates can, of course, take the matter to the courts. After spending time and money campaigning, he can spend more time and money fighting for his rightful seat.

I have worked with Bond and Gates and believe both of them to be capable men working in the best interest of the school district. If I was a Galatia resident and on Election Day had to choose between the two, I would have trouble making a decision. But my belief both men possess leadership qualities is beside the point.

In this country anyone who works hard and proves his value to others can rise to a position of leadership, unless, apparently, someone forgets to count some votes on a card. In that case it takes time and money and litigation to receive the fruits of our efforts. Legally, Bond may be entitled to his seat on the board, but not honorably.

Sadly, this may be the reality of democracy the pupils and students of Galatia will learn early.