Home > Political Notebook > Archives > 2009 > January > 02 > Entry
King: ‘I am mindful of the possibility for conflict’
Responding to cries that his proposed legislation could create work for his own security firm, state Rep. Steve King, R-Grand Junction, has advised his critics that no conflicts of interest exist.
Here are excerpts from his letter to the editor:
“There appeared to be some speculation that there was linkage between this legislation and my private employment; this is not the case. The bill proposed is a very basic approach, which simply requires school districts and other educational institutions over a two-year period to have in place, some life saving drills to deal with emergency situations other than following a typical fire drill evacuation, which conceivably might only increase the danger of the situation to students.
“The bill I’m sponsoring does not require any school district to hire a consultant or anyone else for that matter but simply to have several types of drills in place and perform them so that there is some practice process to allow flexibility in the response options available to a school.”
[…]
“It has been and continues to be my intention to bring my 28 years of life experiences as a police officer, violent crime investigator and school resource officer to the Colorado Legislature. Therefore, there will always be situations where my work will have some relationship to the legislation I might propose. … I am mindful of the possibility for conflict; however, I cannot un-ring the bell and disengage a lifetime of work and experience from what I believe to be in my constituents’ best interest.
“A part-time citizen legislature does and should require outside employment, so that those seeking new laws understand what it’s like to live under them. You can also create the opportunity for conflict no matter how unintentional. None exists in this situation.”
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What do you think? The comments section awaits below.
*King photo shot by Political Notebook.
Comments
By katana
January 5, 2009 6:39 PM | Link to this
The original article attacking King’s company and his legislative work was an obvious biased hack job. The person writing the article has no clue as to what the pending piece of legislation says, nor do they have any clue as to District 51’s policy regarding consultants and subcontractors. The original article was something you’d find in a High School newspaper, not a city paper.
Good for King firing back at the ignorant writer! Who’s steering the Sentinel ship? Shouldn’t you at least have somewhat of a clue as to what you’re writing about before it’s published?
By John Linko
January 7, 2009 8:57 AM | Link to this
I worked with Rep. King during his tenure with the Grand Junction Police Department and the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office. I am impressed with his skills and abilities as a law enforcement professional. I do not believe that this experience alone qualifies him to be the sole source contractor for a comprehensive audit of the security needs of an institution of the size and complexity of Mesa State College.
Such an undertaking also speaks to several other public safety disciplines, such as Emergency Management, Incident Command, and effective interface with Fire and Emergency Medical Services. I hope that Rep. King seeks out professionals in these areas to serve as subcontractors or compensated advisers, and that the audit report is made available for public inspection upon completion.
By Concerned parent and grandparent
January 19, 2009 11:35 PM | Link to this
King draws upon a hand-picked multi-disciplinary team of leaders in the areas of EM, LE, NIMS/ICS, mental health, social services, and crisis communication. Many are internationally-famous speakers or heads of national associations. King’s commitment to school safety has brought together a tremendous free resource for Colorado. You’ll see this as HB09-1009 makes its way through the General Assembly.