Why Carson Chose To Die In Office Rather Than Resign

As regular readers of this blog are aware, I've been highly critical of the late Rep. Julia Carson for her decision to hold on to her seat rather than resign once it became clear she was unable to perform her duties in office. Many people speculated about her reasoning for denying the people of the 7th District a representative in Congress by staying on rather than resigning. After all, she and her staff lied for many months about the state of her health, a fact conveniently overlooked by our local media. Her decision not to resign has resulted in our district being without representation. I think the Star's "Behind Closed Doors" column answers that question for us today. If Carson had resigned from office, an important death benefit would not have been available to her heirs. By dying in office, her heirs can divvy up $165,200 between them, an amount equal to her one year's pay as a congressperson. The column item reads:

The $555 billion spending bill Congress approved before adjourning for the year includes $165,200 for heirs of the congresswoman, who died this month from lung cancer.

It's a tradition in the House for the heirs of lawmakers who die in office to receive one year's salary. Her survivors include two children and two grandchildren.

Despite all the tributes you've heard to Rep. Carson this past week, the truth is that Julia has always taken care of Julia and her family first. She always made sure that there were government jobs for family members, including her grandson, Andre, who we are told she wants to anoint from the grave as her successor. When she ran a clothing store in Claypool Court, she believed she didn't have to pay rent to the Simon family because she was a prominent African-American state senator, and so she didn't until she was evicted and sued for the back rent. She used her relationship with the Center Township Trustee to force needy residents to purchase clothing from her store at inflated prices. Her supporters boast about how she took away benefits from unqualified beneficiaries as Center Township Trustee, but they don't tell you she was successfully sued by the Indiana Civil Liberties Union because she made decisions in her office which ignored a pesky little provision of our constitution called the due process clause. Taxpayers also had to pay to settle lawsuits against former employees she unlawfully fired because they didn't support the candidate she backed for township constable. Her supporters boast about her efforts to clean up her Fall Creek neighborhood, but ignore the fact she allowed buildings she owned to fall into disrepair and failed to pay property taxes she owed on them. One of her buildings became a public nuisance as a neighborhood crack house. Taxpayers were forced to pay to tear down the building and clean up the vacant lot. She refused to reimburse taxpayers until the media turned up the heat on her. And as her last act as Center Township Trustee, she personally arranged to have the 300 East property unnecessarily purchased at taxpayers expense named in her honor.

At her funeral, her supporters referred to her as "Queen Julia" just as she would have wanted it, and declared Prince Andre, a guy whose test score was too low to be hired as a state excise police officer but nonetheless got hired because Queen Julia told the man in charge of excise police, her former campaign manager, to give Andre and another one of her grandsons a job. "If you love me, send my seed,” U.S. Rep. Kilpatrick said Carson told her on her death bed, referring to grandson, Andre. As one local TV station reported, even in death, the Carson machine lives on. When my parents die, they will never receive the honors and accolades feasted upon Carson, but I will know they have accomplished more good in their lives than Carson ever thought of doing for her fellow mankind. My parents are like most people who work hard, tend to the needs of their family, pay their fair share of taxes and generously give to their church, charities and others without expecting anything in return. That's the kind of public service we should honor in this country, and not the self-serving person Carson proved she was in life and in death.