About to be sworn State Senator-elect Sal DiDomenico resigned his council seat on Monday night.
In doing so he set an example and sent a message at the same time to Representative Stat Smith, who refuses to resign his seat on the School Committee.
What is right and just for Senator DiDomenico should be right and just for Rep. Smith.
But it isn’t.
At Monday nights School Committee meeting, Rep. Smith excoriated the Independent for suggesting that he should resign one seat or the other rather than seek to serve two masters.
He should have been excoriating himself instead of the newspaper – and he was ruled out of order by his colleagues, falling into his seat in a huff.
Senator DiDomenico understands that his position in the senate does not allow him to fully serve the people of this city if he is attending Common Council meetings.
His resignation Monday night also shows that Senator DiDomenico is not out for every public dollar he can earn.
He might have continued to be a Common Councilor and to collect that paycheck as well as his Beacon Hill paycheck – but Senator DiDomenico said no – that wouldn’t be right and it wouldn’t be fair.
We urge Rep. Smith to give up his seat on the School Committee, to follow the example set by Senator DiDomenico. He has to understand that picking up two checks is not only unfair to those whom he represents but is also a conflict of interest in the truest sense.
The Senator has sent out the message loud and clear that holding two seats is not the right thing to do and that he won’t do that.
Rep. Smith needs to do the same.
Criticizing the newspaper for asking him to resign his School Committee seat is one thing.
Not following the message sent to him by Senator DiDomenico’s altruistic actions is another.