Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield recently responded to being included among a list of the AJC’s Top “Truant” Legislators in a letter to constituants that is now also posted on GoDeKalb.

Here’s a clip…

If you woke up Monday, March 10, morning and saw the front page of the local newspaper (as I did), with my photo among ten state representatives who were described as missing the most votes in the Georgia House of Representatives, you would have been treated to about half of the real story. If you don’t mind, I’d like to fill you in on the details that the newspaper story failed to mention.

Vote Tally Misleading. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s method of tallying voters is misleading because it failed to count the actual number of total votes missed, choosing instead to count only “unexcused absences.” Given that excused absences are automatically given upon the request of a legislator without any explanation, there is no meaningful distinction between excused and non-excused absences. The reality is that I missed a couple of mornings at the Legislature this session to take my children to the doctor during the cold and flu season. I made the technical mistake of not calling in for an excused absence. Had I done so, I would not have been included in the AJC’s ranking.

I’m still a little unclear why you wouldn’t call in if you were going to be out. We are all expected to do the same in our jobs or face the consequences. Perhaps this is the first time anyone has run a story like this and there never was really any incentive to call in. I would think that everything changes now that the AJC has decided to count only “unexcused” absences.

One benefit of this story has been that it has prompted me to discover Benfield’s excellent website, which gives weekly updates on everything that’s going on in the GA legislature. As a fellow web poster, I can say that these extensive updates must take considerable time and effort.

Kudos to her on this front. I’ll be checking in often.

(photo courtesy of stephaniestuckeybenfield.org)