By Jerry Riley

As many of you know, I think we should think that when we elect anyone to office, they are getting paid using our tax money, so they work for us!

If you find a job you are interested in you may ask questions about the job. If it is a political position, you may also need to see if enough people think you are right for the position to make campaigning worth your while. This involves getting petitions signed, and successfully filing them. The application process begins with screening. In the case of an election this happens during the Primary campaign and election. This is the time when the candidate/applicant should tell their perspective employers his or her qualification for the job and what they can do to benefit the taxpayers.
Speaking engagements, political debates, forums or other interaction with the voters should be considered as the preliminary interview.
As with any competent employer, it is up to the employer/voter to check out the applicant and to verify the information provided in the application.
Then it is time to score the applicants and shorten the list, or hold the Primary, which is a party election to pick from all the applicants, who will then compete against other applicants from other parties.
Now the final selection process begins: campaigning for the General Election.
Most employees are evaluated yearly. Those who are elected should be reviewed much more often. As an employer, we must make sure they do a good job, and that we constantly communicate our concerns. If we decide the employee is not doing the job we hired them for, it may be time to start a new application process. The only time we can fire an elected employee is at the ballot box, and, and what a revoltin’ development this is!

Jerry Riley is an occasional commentator for the News Bulletin. He is a retired telecommunications supervisor.
© 2012 All Rights Reserved