As a voter, I feel it is my obligation to choose a candidate who best represents my moral and ideological background. Judging a candidate’s character is just as important as what he can do in his term. Therefore, when I hear news of a representative like Jeff Wood, I-Bloomer, getting arrested, I cringe. Wood, in case you have not heard, was arrested Wednesday night on suspicion of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. This is Wood’s second OWI in a year and his fourth overall violation. Don’t question yourself — you did read that correctly. It is his fourth overall violation in his 40 years of life. You may ask, “How is this guy still in office?” Honestly, I don’t have an answer.
Although the preliminary Breathalyzer test indicated he did not have any alcohol in his body, he did admit to taking two doses of cough syrup in a three-hour span along with an obscene amount of prescribed anxiety medication. To further clarify his usage, Wood filled a 45-pill prescription on a Tuesday. When they arrested him and found the prescription bottle in his car on Wednesday, they could only find seven pills left. Doing some simple math, Rep. Wood either took or misplaced 38 pills in 24 hours. I’m not a medical expert, but I’m relatively certain this action is not healthy.
In a statement sent into the Chippewa Herald, Wood admits he has struggled with alcoholism. This summer he joined an outpatient drug and alcohol treatment program. He assures us he is still in it.
Although he does not represent me personally, I am still ashamed of Jeff Wood. As a public figure, a government employee and, most importantly, a representative of citizens, committing multiple serious crimes is a heinous offense. To have four OWIs is sickly comical. I value people who have integrity and clearly this man has none. I’m not blaming the good people of Bloomer, but a man like this should not be in office. I don’t care if he is a nice man. I’m sure he is. His job, however, is to look out for the best interests of the state. You can’t trust a man who clearly doesn’t trust himself.
It’s unfortunate people like Wood can cast such a negative light over an organization that should be admired. We are supposed to have respect for our state Assembly, but how can we respect it if it doesn’t care about the integrity of each member? As much as Wood is at fault, so is the Assembly for allowing him to continue representing his constituency. Yes, there has only been one representative expelled from the Wisconsin state Assembly, but honestly, if Wood does not remove himself, I would be shocked if he was not the second.
I would like to thank Rep. Stephen Nass, R-Whitewater, for personally spearheading the movement to remove Wood from the Assembly. Thank you for having the courage to do the right thing. The Assembly needs to follow your lead and find the two-thirds majority to expel him.
If there is to be a silver lining to this sad story, it’s the fact that Wood can become the poster boy for OWI reform. Now there is a public figure in direct violation of this law, I would want everyone to realize the state’s stance is too lenient. Wood is very lucky he’s spent these years in Wisconsin, because if we were any other state, he would have been in jail a long time ago. As much as Wood would like to forget this, it’s important the people don’t. Please make this unfortunate incident useful. Give Wood the peace in knowing his action led to a change and the much needed curtailing of driving under the influence.
Every citizen should expect the people who make the laws are law-abiding citizens themselves. Nobody wants to be a hypocrite, but representatives who engage or act in unlawful activities are. I hope representatives understand this “sacrifice,” but they need to have a pristine record. I understand people make mistakes, and I’m fine with giving them one reasonable mistake. However, Jeff Wood should have done the honorable thing and resigned after the first incident violating the OWI laws of Wisconsin. He could have saved himself a lot of scrutiny.
Although I have placed a lot of deserved blame on Jeff Wood, it does not mean I don’t want him to succeed in his treatment. I will speak for all of Wisconsin in saying, please find your help. We are all behind you regardless whether you resign or not. That being said, do the state a favor and resign.
Zach Day ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in journalism.
