It would be wonderful if state Assemblymember Audra Strickland would please stop complaining about the recent change in the requirements for county treasurer.

As someone once said, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” She seemed surprised that there’s allegedly partisanship at play here. Apparently she also isn’t paying attention to what’s going on in the Assembly.

All that’s happened is that she’s now legally not qualified for a job that even her supporters admitted she wasn’t qualified to do. And by the way, how long has she had this burning desire to be the treasurer? Since she realized the office would be open and she would be termed out from the Assembly? Or has this really been a secret goal all along?

I rather doubt it.

My suggestion is that she check around for other well-paying government jobs she can apply for, maybe think Waste Management Commission, a home for termed-out politicians that pays over $100,000 per year and for which she’s also entirely unqualified.

There must be a lot of them.

But seriously, it’s entirely too easy to be snide and make jokes at Ms. Strickland’s expense.

There’s a serious issue here, and that’s the failure of term limits to cycle new blood into the political system as it was intended to do. Instead, what term limits does is recycle used politicians from one job to another as if they don’t understand the purpose of term limits.

The purpose was to retire them and prevent ossification in government.

Instead it’s become a game of musical chairs, and we the people are subjected to the same politicians in a different form, when the clear intent was for them to be gone.

This is why I so deeply resent Ms. Strickland’s recent desire to serve us as treasurer. She’s had her time in government, and it’s the will of the people that she— and so many others—return to private life and not the recycle bin.
Steven L. Rice
Thousand Oaks