Date: Fri 17-Jul-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

edink-politics-Varese

Full Text:

ED INK: Varese Does The Right Thing

Though he waited until the last minute to do it, State Rep William Varese

bowed to pressure from Republican leaders on Wednesday and took himself out of

the race in the 112th Assembly District, which includes part of Newtown.

However reluctantly, he did the right thing in the end.

Mr Varese, who was arrested on a drunk-driving charge in March after he

emerged from a Bridgeport strip club and crashed his car into several

vehicles, has spent much of the past four months trying to put the episode

behind him and to escape the consequences of his actions. He did manage to

avoid a mandatory 90-day suspension of his license because of a flaw in the

Bridgeport police report of the incident. Now he is seeking accelerated

rehabilitation in Superior Court, which will allow him not to admit any guilt

and to have the charges dismissed if he manages to refrain from committing

more crimes during a probationary period.

While he may find mercy in the courts, we doubt very much if the voters in the

112th District would forgive him. He may be, as his friends suggest, a good

person who has behaved badly. When it comes to selecting someone to represent

us and our interests in Hartford, however, there are plenty of good persons

who have not behaved badly to choose from. In fact, the candidates who have

emerged in both parties in the 112th have records of personal integrity and

community service that make them excellent candidates. Thankfully, now the

voters of the 112th District can look forward to a campaign focused on issues

of importance and not on the sad details of one man's personal problems.