There comes a time in every man’s life when he must set aside his own desires, ambitions and vanity to make a difficult decision based on what’s best for the greater good be it his family or his community.
Fortunately, it appears Oxford Village Councilman Michael Hamilton has chosen to do that by deciding to resign his office lest he cause further embarrassment and shame for the people he was elected to represent.
According to village President Chris Bishop, Hamilton told him he’s planning to submit his letter of resignation from council following his July 22 court appearance. We trust he will stay true to his word.
Over the weekend, Hamilton was arrested in the village for drunken driving (see story on page 1). It’s the third time in about a year-and-a-half that the councilman’s had a run-in with the law. In all three incidents, alcohol was present or played a role.
Enough is enough. Three strikes, you’re out.
Hamilton’s very public antics demonstrate a severe lack of maturity, judgement and personal responsibility, particularly for a 36-year-old man.
Granted, he’s done many good things during his short time on the village council.
He voted to cut village property taxes by one full mill. He voted to privatize the water plant, thus saving residents? money now and in the long run. He voted to down-size the village office staff, again saving residents money. He voted to build a new water plant so village residents could finally get the soft water they’d been paying for, but not receiving.
Unfortunately, all the good Hamilton’s done is being outweighed and tarnished by his childish deeds outside council chambers.
Village residents deserve to be represented by respectable, levelheaded individuals, not overgrown frat boys who get busted by the cops on a regular basis.
Village residents deserve to be represented by leaders who reflect well upon them and respect the fact that theirs is a position of trust. They don’t need officials who consistently shed a negative light on the town by living their life like it’s some sort of never-ending beer commercial.
Although technically Hamilton cannot remove his name from the September village ballot, he can most certainly ask residents to not vote for him. We urge him to do so.
Unfortunately, Oxford has suffered yet another embarrassing episode courtesy of one of its foolish public officials.
When will it end? That’s up to the voters and the people they elect to office. ? CJC