Full Version: The Congresswoman’s Son
Kay Granger, a former Mayor of Fort Worth and a Republican, who now holds Jim Wright’s old Twelfth Congressional Congressional District of Texas seat, worked for money to redirect the area's Trinity River. With the project about to commence, her son, J. D. Granger, has been hired at a salary of $110,000.00 to manage the project.
I think most of you can guess my thinking on the issues, but I’ll try to keep my powder dry until some others have weighed in.
Based on information from the local paper, The Fort Worth Star Telegram, and other information you may find:
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/14007900.htm
I have the following questions for debate:
1. Is J. D. Granger the best qualified person for the job or is this another example of blatant cronyism? Why or why not?
2. Regardless of your answer, do you think J. D. Granger’s appointment will come back to haunt Kay Granger politically?
I think most of you can guess my thinking on the issues, but I’ll try to keep my powder dry until some others have weighed in.
Based on information from the local paper, The Fort Worth Star Telegram, and other information you may find:
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/14007900.htm
I have the following questions for debate:
1. Is J. D. Granger the best qualified person for the job or is this another example of blatant cronyism? Why or why not?
2. Regardless of your answer, do you think J. D. Granger’s appointment will come back to haunt Kay Granger politically?
I realize this is a local story, but I think it has wider implications.
1. Is J. D. Granger the best qualified person for the job or is this another example of blatant cronyism? Why or why not?
I don’t really know whether or not J. D. Granger is the best qualified candidate the Regional Water District could have found, but it seems highly suspect. The Congresswoman gets a large pork project for the area and her son gets a plum job. Convenient!
2. Regardless of your answer, do you think J. D. Granger’s appointment will come back to haunt Kay Granger politically?
I think there should be some political fallout for Kay Granger.
Here is the real tragedy. Members of the water board are worried about retaliation from Congresswoman Granger.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/14007900.htm
Excuse me, but Granger is supposed to be a representative of the people. When constituents fear retaliation from an elected representative, the shoe is on the wrong foot.
If anyone should fear retaliation, it should be Congresswoman Granger. After all, she works for us, not the other way around. Well, that’s how I think the founders saw it working, in theory at least.
1. Is J. D. Granger the best qualified person for the job or is this another example of blatant cronyism? Why or why not?
I don’t really know whether or not J. D. Granger is the best qualified candidate the Regional Water District could have found, but it seems highly suspect. The Congresswoman gets a large pork project for the area and her son gets a plum job. Convenient!
2. Regardless of your answer, do you think J. D. Granger’s appointment will come back to haunt Kay Granger politically?
I think there should be some political fallout for Kay Granger.
Here is the real tragedy. Members of the water board are worried about retaliation from Congresswoman Granger.
QUOTE
Two other city officials described the mood in the room as surprised and angry. None of the city officials wanted to be named, partly because the matter was discussed in a closed-door meeting and partly because they didn't want to open themselves to possible retaliation from the powerful Republican congresswoman.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/14007900.htm
Excuse me, but Granger is supposed to be a representative of the people. When constituents fear retaliation from an elected representative, the shoe is on the wrong foot.
If anyone should fear retaliation, it should be Congresswoman Granger. After all, she works for us, not the other way around. Well, that’s how I think the founders saw it working, in theory at least.
I think you're grasping at straws here, BoF.
1. Is J. D. Granger the best qualified person for the job or is this another example of blatant cronyism? Why or why not?
Congresswoman's son hired to oversee flood control project
So he isn't being paid with pork money and the district manager is standing behind him. Cronyism is when people are appointed without the necessary experience and others who work for them need to pick up the slack because of their inexperience.
Being a former DA means he has organizational skills. He is also a former volunteer (i.e. non-paid worker) for the project. So he has an interest in getting it done and getting it done right as well as organizational skills.
Should this guy be forced to move out of the district to get any job? His mother's name could be invoked as cronyism is any number of jobs he might take, including district attorney.
You didn't as whether this project is necessary. It's clearly pork. Maybe they should just cancel the project and save US taxpayers half a billion?
2. Regardless of your answer, do you think J. D. Granger’s appointment will come back to haunt Kay Granger politically?
That is a local issue. I'm sure it will be brought up, but I am completely unqualified in determining if it will have any effect.
1. Is J. D. Granger the best qualified person for the job or is this another example of blatant cronyism? Why or why not?
Congresswoman's son hired to oversee flood control project
QUOTE
J.D. Granger, whose mother is U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, will earn $110,000 a year and start work Monday at the Tarrant Regional Water District, said Jim Oliver, general manager of the district, which is spearheading the project.
J.D. Granger, 36, an assistant Tarrant County district attorney for eight years, also has worked in various volunteer roles during planning for the Trinity Uptown project, Oliver said.
"If he was a Smith or a Jones, I would have hired him," Oliver said.
J.D. Granger, 36, an assistant Tarrant County district attorney for eight years, also has worked in various volunteer roles during planning for the Trinity Uptown project, Oliver said.
"If he was a Smith or a Jones, I would have hired him," Oliver said.
QUOTE
J.D. Granger's salary will come from water district funds, not federal money that Kay Granger is securing, Oliver told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Those funds do not come directly to the water district, he said.
So he isn't being paid with pork money and the district manager is standing behind him. Cronyism is when people are appointed without the necessary experience and others who work for them need to pick up the slack because of their inexperience.
Being a former DA means he has organizational skills. He is also a former volunteer (i.e. non-paid worker) for the project. So he has an interest in getting it done and getting it done right as well as organizational skills.
Should this guy be forced to move out of the district to get any job? His mother's name could be invoked as cronyism is any number of jobs he might take, including district attorney.
You didn't as whether this project is necessary. It's clearly pork. Maybe they should just cancel the project and save US taxpayers half a billion?
2. Regardless of your answer, do you think J. D. Granger’s appointment will come back to haunt Kay Granger politically?
That is a local issue. I'm sure it will be brought up, but I am completely unqualified in determining if it will have any effect.
1. Is J. D. Granger the best qualified person for the job or is this another example of blatant cronyism? Why or why not?
I doubt that he's the "best person" for the job, but its a sad fact of life that if they search for and hold out for the "best person", they may never get the position filled. A better question would be, is he qualified for the job? And, based on what the article said, I'd have to say he probably is. Is it blatant cronyism? Ummm, no, for the same reasons why he is qualified. This guy has been working on the project in a volunteer leadership role for years already. As a lawyer, he's going to have a good handle on dealing with the inevitable legal wrangles, he's had to deal with interagency and inter-jurisdictional stuff before, etc, etc. Heck, maybe his undergrad degree is in civil engineering, which would give him a hat trick. I don't doubt that the folks who hired him are hoping that his connections can benefit the project as well. So, if you hire someone who can do the job, and has connections, is it cronyism?
2. Regardless of your answer, do you think J. D. Granger’s appointment will come back to haunt Kay Granger politically?
Not being familiar enough with Texas politics and how secure she is, I couldn't hazard a guess.
I doubt that he's the "best person" for the job, but its a sad fact of life that if they search for and hold out for the "best person", they may never get the position filled. A better question would be, is he qualified for the job? And, based on what the article said, I'd have to say he probably is. Is it blatant cronyism? Ummm, no, for the same reasons why he is qualified. This guy has been working on the project in a volunteer leadership role for years already. As a lawyer, he's going to have a good handle on dealing with the inevitable legal wrangles, he's had to deal with interagency and inter-jurisdictional stuff before, etc, etc. Heck, maybe his undergrad degree is in civil engineering, which would give him a hat trick. I don't doubt that the folks who hired him are hoping that his connections can benefit the project as well. So, if you hire someone who can do the job, and has connections, is it cronyism?
2. Regardless of your answer, do you think J. D. Granger’s appointment will come back to haunt Kay Granger politically?
Not being familiar enough with Texas politics and how secure she is, I couldn't hazard a guess.
QUOTE(Amlord @ Mar 6 2006, 11:33 AM)
I think you're grasping at straws here, BoF.
To hear some of you tell it, anything Democrats do is "grasping at straws." You must not be paying much attention to polls for the past few months.
One of your frequently use tactics, Amlord, is to try to minimize significance of an event, especially if a conservative Republican has engaged in "questionable" conduct.
If you want to minimize taking advantage of the situation that's fine, you just did. The issue here is circumventing equal opportunity.
If I were Kay Granger's opponent in November, I would play this for all it's worth.
Even more appalling to me than the event itself, are attempts to justify people who take advantage of their elected positions.
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