State Sen. David Jaye was booted from office Thursday. I’m glad. But I know a lot of people aren’t. Therefore, as a citizen who attended the hearings and watched the floor debate, let me explain why I am glad.

The Senate didn’t find Jaye guilty of three drunken driving charges, two domestic assaults and countless acts of harassing employees. It didn’t have to. It merely had to decide that the records of the police calls and the documentation of harassment are enough that he does not deserve to be a leader of the citizenry. And it did. He screamed about due process and lack of evidence, but those rules do not apply to a body regulating its members. While the Constitution ensures due process, it does not ensure the right to be a senator, as it does not provide any citizen the right to keep his job after making mistakes.

While Jaye screamed about the “secret file,” my understanding is that the secretary of the Senate kept a file of all the reports of harassment. It’s not her fault if Jaye was the only harasser.

I’m glad to see him gone. I think the Senate was right. And while others may disagree, I wish they had sat through the hearings with me.

Susan Mickelson
2001 MSU graduate