Cole has a dream: Squash King’s dream
January 19, 2013 — Today’s Freelance Star includes a story on the dual roles of that great multi-tasker, Virginia House Del./Spotsylvania County deputy administrator Mark Cole. Among the many humorous items in the story is Cole’s assertion that he can handle both jobs by working days, nights and weekends to make sure he gets it all done. I find that particularly amusing, because looking at Mark Cole, one doesn’t get the sense that he has a huge metabolic rate or is burning a lot of calories, but I digress…..
More importantly, the story also once again raises the ethical violations surrounding Cole’s appointment pushed by the Spotsy Board’s new Republican majority, who either received from or gave campaign contributions to Cole. In addition, according to to the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Code of Ethics, the hiring and retention of Cole violates at least two of the tenets, possibly more. In any case, his hiring does violate common sense and our intelligence when he and the Board try to convince us that out of 104 candidates, Cole was the most qualified.
All of this comes during the weekend when the Nation is honoring the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. You might ask what that has to do with the unethical hiring of Cole? This is the same Mark Cole, who continues to push for ways to keep people from voting. Not just any people, mind you, but more specifically, African Americans, Latinos, college students and poor people – people who traditionally vote Democratic. Last year, he supported legislation to keep these folks from voting, and when that didn’t work in the 2012 elections, he upped the ante and introduced legislation to make it even harder!
Of course, just as he tries to justify his hiring in Spotsy, Cole tries to justify his voter suppression initiatives. But, they don’t wash. Again, his violation of there civil rights and voting rights violates common sense and our intelligence.
Dr. King died fighting for civil rights and voting rights. That’s why we honor him this weekend. And as we honorDr. King and remember the moral and spiritual movement he led, today’s story reminds us that we live in a county that is led by people who vote for and hire a guy like Mark Cole, who is working hard to undo the great work of King. As we reflect on the life and work of Dr. King, let us also think about what kind of community we want to create and want kind of people we want leading it. We can do better than this.
O.Hank! is a local writer, who works in the private sector and has worked in policy positions in local, state and federal levels of government.