One can legitimately argue either way as to whether former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner should have been forced to resign his congressional seat. There can be no argument in describing Weiner as having been disgraced.
Indeed, in TimesLedger Newspapers’ July 14-20 issue, in the story “Weprin, Turner launch races for Weiner seat,” reference is made to replace “disgraced Anthony Weiner.”
What is equally disgraceful is the selection of candidates for the congressional seat and other state Assembly seats in a special election that was not as the result of an open primary, where several contenders for the seats could compete, but rather as the result of boss politics and the public be damned.
Until we get rid of a system in which entrenched political bosses rig the designation process, often through nepotism, the public will be saddled with second-rate legislators loyal to the party bosses and not the public.
It is one of the reasons I support term limits as a way to prevent entrenchment politics.
Benjamin M. Haber
Flushing
