|
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Fox.
DELEGATE FOX: Would Delegate
James yield for a question?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate James,
would you yield?
DELEGATE JAMES: I would be glad
to.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Fox.
DELEGATE FOX: Did you not just
vote for 'this same amendment?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate James.
DELEGATE JAMES: I made a mistake.
(Laughter.)
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Gleason.
DELEGATE GLEASON: That is an
honest man, Mr. Chairman.
One of the amusing things I always find
personally in connection with secret ballots
is how rapidly people can change sides of
the road to justify a particular position
depending upon what their objective is.
I have to state that in my judgment there
is no substitute in public life for a man
with courage and integrity in his heart
who will come down and stand up and op-
pose a man who has been a leader if that
is his desire, and to take the consequences
of that action.
It seems to me that you are dealing with
a legislative branch in which you want to
develop responsibility, but individual re-
sponsibility.
I cannot see how you are developing indi-
vidual responsibility when on such a key
question you are saying that on that ques-
tion you are going to foster a situation
and I do not know of any other parallel,
where you are going to have politicking in
the halls of the General Assembly than
this one, if you require a secret ballot.
I certainly hope this ballot is defeated.
THE CHAIRMAN: Are you ready for
the question?
Delegate Grumbacher.
DELEGATE GRUMBACHER: Mr.
Chairman, several things which have been
said move me to speak again, one of which
is that we should stand up and be counted,
and I wish to assure this body that I have
stood up and been counted plenty of times,
and I have fought for those things in which
I believed, and I voted in the open for all
|
of the things that I wanted to vote for, and
I will have to admit that when it comes to
choosing a leadership of a body, when the
vote is in public, you may vote very sub-
stantially differently than you would in
private.
As a member of the legislature, your job
whether you will be serving the State for
four years in a capacity that is worth
serving it or whether you will sit in the
back of a room in effect, depends to a great
degree, on how you voted for your leader-
ship. Let us not forget it. This is a very
important thing.
Do you spend the time, after conscien-
tiously running for the legislature, on a
minority committee doing nothing or do you
sit on a major one? This is the heart of
the subject and the ability to stand and be
counted on all the other votes would not
mean a damn thing to you if you failed to
be on a useful committee.
THE CHAIRMAN: Are you ready for
the question?
Delegate Linton.
DELEGATE LINTON: Mr. Chairman,
I have no objection to the legislature pro-
viding for a secret ballot, but I feel that
this Convention has no place in writing
into a constitution the rules by which the
legislature will operate.
I therefore feel that we should reject this
amendment and let the legislature deter-
mine their policy in this area.
THE CHAIRMAN: Are you ready for
the question?
Delegate White.
DELEGATE WHITE: I would like for
someone to explain to me briefly the prin-
ciple — if there is any difference in the prin-
ciple from that which we enacted by this
body in section 4.16 which provided for
secret ballots by judges and the selection
of a judge for nomination, and for promo-
tion.
THE CHAIRMAN: Are you ready for
the question? The question arises upon the
adoption of Amendment No. 7 to Commit-
tee Recommendation LB-2. The Clerk will
ring the quorum bell.
A vote Aye is a vote in favor of Amend-
ment No. 7. A vote No is a vote against.
Cast your vote.
Has every delegate voted? Does any dele-
gate desire to change his vote?
|
