July 5, 2012

Another View: Cornell du Houx has the right to decide how best to serve

Every elected official deserves respect without unjustified pressure.

By Jason R. White

The temporary protection order filed against Rep. Alex Cornell du Houx by Rep. Erin Herbig was dismissed May 14 at Belfast District Court.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JASON R. WHITE is a resident of Rockland.

According to The Portland Press Herald report ("Lawmakers in stalking case reach a deal," May 13), on the afternoon of May 11, the police officially ended the investigation and Cornell du Houx was never interviewed.

The agreement between the two representatives was finalized May 11 at 11:30 p.m. The police probe ended before any agreement was signed. Cornell du Houx was cleared.

The issue only re-emerged in the press when Maine Democratic Party Chairman Ben Grant publicly denounced Cornell du Houx.

"Ben's desire for me to withdraw from my re-election bid is a complete surprise to me. It is so unprofessional of him to make a public statement without ever talking directly to me about this incident," said Cornell du Houx.

Grant never called Alex Cornell du Houx or bothered to talk to his Democratic town committee. Not only is this a huge insult to Alex's integrity, it's a slap in the face to the Brunswick committee.

Grant stated that the party had to find another candidate. Alex's town committee stated that it had been working on contingency plans with Alex in case he decided to withdraw.

I had the privilege to be Alex's company commander at one stage in his service career. He's dedicated, determined and passionate about public service, be it his service to his country, community or state.

Does Grant understand what it means to military personnel when someone has their back and when someone doesn't? Shouldn't the same credo apply in civilian life?

Every elected official deserves the respect and has the right to decide how to best serve their community, state and country without unjustified pressure from the chair of any political party.

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