I sent the following email to my state assemblymember, in response to this news story from yesterday, about how a group of middle school students were removed from the Assembly chamber (in which the Democratic Party holds a solid majority) because of an apparent violation of rules by a Republican assemblymember.
Dear Assemblemember Steck,
I was disappointed to read the news about students from Gouverneur Middle School being removed from the Assembly chamber yesterday. Regardless of whether Assemblymember Durso violated Assembly rules, the students themselves are blameless. I know that you, as a longtime supporter of public education, understand the importance of teaching students about how their government functions. I don’t think we want to reinforce the lesson they learned from this experience.
I encourage you to reach out to Democratic leadership and work to issue an apology to the students and their school. (The fact that Assemblymember Durso also likely owes them an apology does not change the moral obligation of our own party.) Humility in government is both scant and desperately needed today. We have an opportunity to teach these students how responsible adults behave when they make mistakes. It would be a shame if we were too proud to do so.
Sincerely,
I’ll note (in case it wasn’t obvious) that both Assemblymember Steck and I are members of the Democratic Party and serve together on the local Democratic Committee.