THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 17, 1995 TAG: 9503170003
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A20 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 42 lines
After reading ``Norfolk court official cuts deal with Wright'' (news, March 11), I get the overwhelming feeling that something is seriously wrong with our court and/or political systems in Norfolk.
As I recall, William T. Ryan originally was appointed and subsequently elected to the position of clerk of Circuit Court primarily because he was experienced in the court system. No one can argue about that. However, Mr. Ryan does not have undisputed title to the job, giving him or anyone else the right to ``cut a deal'' with Randy Wright. A position with a staff of 50 and a $1 million annual budget deserves the supervision of someone who is experienced.
Likewise for Mr. Wright, who has made a name for himself in local politics. What gives him the right to assume that this $90,000-a-year job is his for the asking? The fact that he wants such a low-profile title makes one wonder if his intention is no more than monetary gain. His claim that he wants the office to be a center of power for the Democratic Party does not sound like something that will benefit all the people of Norfolk.
This kind of politicking and dealing flies in the face of people who have a work ethic and believe that the most-qualified people should hold positions of authority. Perhaps this office should be made into a nonpolitical one and one of the more experienced staff given the job. Mr. Ryan does not seem to want to fight for it, and Randy Wright should not have it given to him as a political payoff.
As somewhat of an afterthought: If the staff can run the office with little supervision, according to Mr. Ryan, and the job can be easily learned by the inexperienced Mr. Wright, why are we the people paying anyone $90,000 a year to supervise it?
PAUL H. EVANS
Norfolk, March 11, 1995 by CNB