City Rep. Larry Romero Is Hanging Out At The Masters Golf Tournament And Still Getting Paid By You For Not Working On City Council

I was checking out The Lion Star Blog, one of my favorite political blogs, today and ran across this interesting update on what City Rep. Larry Romero is up to. I call him City Rep because even though he resigned from Council, he is still being paid a City salary funded by your taxpayer dollars.

Romero has continued to ask that his absences from Council meetings be excused because of his health issues, but he feels well enough to work at his tax preparation business, and according to the photos on his son's Facebook page, travel to Augusta, Georgia for the Masters Golf Tournament.

If Romero is well enough to work at his private business, and well enough to travel, I would venture to say that he is well enough to either work at the position he asked voters to put him in, or to find the strength to write an email and request that his paycheck from the City be donated to worthy causes because he is not doing anything to merit the pay.

There had been a call to stop marking Romero's absences as excused, and eventually cutting off his paycheck, but a recent move by the City Attorney could tell us which city reps vote for the excused absences of Romero. Council could treat the vote on Romero's absences separately from the rest of the consent agenda, and a record of how each city rep voted would be a part of the public record. It would show taxpayers who is voting to keep Romero's absences excused, and therefore continue letting him receive a paycheck.

I don't mean to harp on Romero, but if your co-worker was pulling the seemingly shady things he has been accused of, been investigated by higher ups, claimed a health issue, resigned from the job, but continued to draw a paycheck without working for it, and then worked at another job and travelled, all while you were working day in and day out, wouldn't you be a little upset?

Romero doesn't have to accept his City paycheck. He can say, 'Hey, you know what? I'm not working that job. Draw up the paycheck if you have to, but I just won't cash it.' He continues to be paid by you for work he is not doing, and that isn't ok. It needs to stop.