Legislator’s wrong priorities

We were astonished to learn that Rep. Wesley Morgan’s legislative activity thus far has been six bills introduced to benefit the liquor industry, which happens to be his vested business interest. He was elected to represent District 81, not the liquor industry. It is certainly not enough to say that he is doing the same thing as doctors or lawyers who introduce bills that reflect their vocations. They at least serve a wide range of the public, not the narrow interest of drinking consumers.

As his constituents, we feel that his efforts thus far are clogging the legislative program. The House does not now have time to deliberate on such bills as he is sponsoring, when there are so many big issues such as tax reform, health care and the economy, which he led us and other District 81 voters to believe would be his chief concerns. Indeed, we attended the Richmond forum last fall when he stated plainly that he would be working on such matters. But now, we feel misled.

We hope that in the next two years, he is able to get his priorities straight. In the meantime, we are urging him to demonstrate his good will and sense of responsibility associated with his office by immediately withdrawing those bills.

This story was originally published January 20, 2017 at 7:42 PM with the headline "Legislator’s wrong priorities."