In a letter to the Cape Gazette published Jan. 13, George Chambers chides Russ Huxtable for a disappointing first two months in office. Of course, the General Assembly did not go into session until Jan. 10, the same day Huxtable was sworn into office.
Let’s be clear. My earlier letter about committee assignments compared Sen. Lopez’s praiseworthy record of bipartisanship with Smyk’s weaker record. Huxtable, I argued, has the same potential for bipartisanship as Lopez.
After eight years in office, Rep. Smyk had not established the record of bipartisanship and good judgment that could convince party leaders to appoint him to the Joint Finance Committee during his final term. After eight years in office, if he serves that long, we can assess Sen. Huxtable’s bipartisan record. After two months in office, reasonable persons will agree it is a bit early to draw conclusions.
Huxtable’s committee assignments should be of interest to all Sussex Countians, regardless of party preference. He is chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee and vice chair of the Environment, Energy and Transportation Committee. He is also a member of Banking, Business, Insurance and Technology; Housing & Land Use; Legislative Oversight & Sunset; and Veterans Affairs. To remind readers, tourism and farming are the biggest and second-biggest contributors to the county’s economy. The Housing Committee will address the problem of affordable housing and also oversees manufactured home communities – 60% of which are in Sussex. In short, his committee assignments enable him to address critical Sussex issues.
Mr. Chambers does convince me of one thing. Even though the campaign signs have barely come down, the campaign against Huxtable’s re-election has already begun.
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to newsroom@capegazette.com. Letters must be signed and include a telephone number and address for verification. Please keep letters to 500 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content and length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days. Letters restating information and opinions already offered by the same author will not be used. Letters must focus on issues of general, local concern, not personalities or specific businesses.
