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Speaker declines to accept Stanley resignation
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Posted on Mar 27 2008
House Speaker Arnold I. Palacios is not accepting Rep. Stanley T. Torres’ resignation as chairman of the Committee on Public Utilities, Transportation and Communications just yet.
Palacios said yesterday that his plan is to allow the issue to cool down for a couple days and then talk to Torres about possibly reconsidering his decision.
“I don’t see this as a big controversy,” said Palacios. “I have a lot of respect for Representative Torres. We get along well personally. It is unfortunate that he felt the way he felt.”
Torres resigned as PUTC chairman on Wednesday because of what he perceives to be too much meddling on the part of the House leadership on how his committee should handle the power crisis.
One of the major points of debate was the appointments to the Public Utilities Commission. According to Torres, his committee was pressured to “rubberstamp” the nominations. He was especially critical of Kimberlyn King-Hinds, whom he accused of conflict of interest. King-Hinds’ nomination was confirmed despite opposition from Torres and three other House members.
Palacios stood by the majority’s decision. He said the vacant positions at PUC must be filled soon, so the regulatory body can start its work and help ease the power problems.
The speaker also argued that disagreement is part of the decision-making process. “Once in a while, we will come across contentious issues. Individual members are free to voice their opinion. But in the end, we have to live with the decision made by the group,” said Palacios.
