And Justice For All...the column

Printed on: Thu, Jun 07, 2007

Sen. Migden needs a day in court

By Kelvin Wade

The California Highway Patrol recommends the Solano County district attorney charge state Sen. Carole Migden with reckless driving following a wild 30-mile jaunt that reportedly nearly ran one driver off the road and ended with a crash in Fairfield. The district attorney's office is reviewing the case and will decide what to do in the next two weeks.

Migden believes the drugs she's been taking for chronic myeloid leukemia may have contributed to her poor driving. She's being medically evaluated. Migden's explanation, while garnering sympathy, hasn't quieted all of her critics. Many right wing bloggers and conservative radio talk show hosts like Phil Cowan out of Sacramento have pooh-poohed her explanation. I share their skepticism. After all, there are nearly 5,000 Americans are diagnosed with the same illness each year and they're not running people off the road.

And while people are naturally going to be sensitive of anyone suffering from disease, Migden shouldn't be that surprised at the skepticism given that it seems we've moved from the old 'abuse excuse' to an era in our society where drugs and alcohol are behind all of our faults. No one just owns up to bad behavior.

Second, she has a reputation of being . . . I'm going to use a B word here . . . brusque. Her alleged remark at the scene of the accident, "You can't talk to me like that. I'm a state senator" is classic Migden.

It's been reported that Migden had a state-paid driver but began driving herself when told by the Senate President Pro Tem she'd have to pay for a driver during her re-election campaign. She raised $1.7 million in her last election. Between her prolific fundraising ability and her $110,880 salary she couldn't find the money for a driver?

Or better yet, as Solano Republican Women Federated President Lynda Rose McMahon mentioned to me, couldn't Migden take the bus? It's not a bad point. Couldn't our representatives model mass transit use and carpooling for the rest of us?

While it's easy to see why right wingers would attack a powerful liberal lawmaker like Migden, I think the public's interest in the story is to make sure one standard is used to adjudicate the senator.

The CHP report says Migden's speed and use of a cell phone while driving were contributing factors in both her accident with a guardrail on I-80 and her crash on Highway 12.

And this wasn't her first wreck. It's been reported that in 1996, a year before her leukemia diagnosis, she ran a stop sign in Sacramento and totaled a 1990 Dodge Spirit driven by Teresa Latham. State records indicate that taxpayers paid out nearly $17,000 in property and injury claims to the other driver in that incident. Eleven years later, Latham is still put off by Migden's perceived lack of concern following the accident. As someone coming off an accident, I understand that they happen.

And I'm glad to see Migden issued a statement saying she isn't trying to shirk the responsibility of what occurred. I think the public just wants to see the senator treated like any citizen would be given similar circumstances.