Nov 22, 2005 2 min read

In response to your recent opinion regarding the pay-raise repeal, I believe it necessary to set the record straight. It seems each time I pick up your newspaper, I am reading speculation and misinformation about what you “think” I am doing, going to do or might do with the pay raise the General Assembly voted for in July and what I might do now that the raise has been repealed.

Yes, I voted this year for the pay raise. It’s the first pay raise I have ever voted for and a vote I did not take lightly.

The unvouchered expense provision attached to the raise was an inseparable part of that bill, which I didn’t agree with, and so, as with every other pay raise in the last 20 years, I redistributed it to our community: in this case, to seniors as supplemental food coupons.

Your paper published news releases and letters I have written regarding my intent over the past few months. You should have taken the time to refer back to those documents before opining.

On Oct. 3, I made $5,000 of that unvouchered expense money available in the form of food vouchers for individuals who are PACE eligible in my legislative district. That money was well spent.

If I am required to return the money back to the legislature, I will rightly do so.

Additionally, turkeys I have purchased to increase the number of turkeys donated for Thanksgiving this month will still be made available and will bring the total amount returned to the community above the amount of the unvouchered expense I received.

I implore you to take the time to call and directly ask me what my intentions are before you decide to write a diatribe on what it is you “predict” I may do now that the vote has been taken to repeal the raise.

I am a public servant; I have stayed the course and I will not apologize for taking care of my constituency.

State Rep. Peter J. Daley

D-Washington/Fayette

49th Legislative District