When asked about her high truancy rate, Sen. Sojourner points to all kinds of excuses, most
ridiculously that the office of state senator is a part-time job.
She’s technically correct.
Mississippi’s lawmakers are, in fact, part-time because the Legislature generally only meets once a
year and usually just for a few months — barring a special session called occasionally by the
governor.
But part-time employees cannot pick and choose the days and hours they work and neither should
state senators.
Employers — in this case, citizens for whom Sen. Sojourner should be working — expect part-time
workers to show up when work is scheduled.
Sen. Sojourner should realize when she signed up for the job — the job of working for the people
in her district — that the schedule is set well in advance and the public expects her to at least show
up.
At the very least, she should apologize publicly for falling short of her duties while working a
second job — helping another truant state senator, Chris McDaniel — seek a higher office.
Perhaps both of them should refocus on doing the work voters elected them to do before they seek
more responsibility that clearly has yet to be earned — at least not through attendance records.
Natchez Democrat Editorial
3/13/14
