Dear Rep. Kefalas --I was extremely proud the day you won your House seat in the Colorado Legislature after a long and sustained effort to get there. And I appreciate the time you shared with me in the past few years on behalf of the Rocky Mountain Bullhorn (RIP).
I'm writing to ask you about the current House panel on which you sit to investigate the tragic negligence of the DHS, a story which was exposed (miraculously enough) by the Coloradoan. I read with interest their coverage of yesterday's hearing (although I trust you've read it already).
The Coloradoan story rightly includes this passage, as it speaks for me and every reasonable person who's watching the continuing story unfold:
Lawmakers did not ask Beye who on her staff was responsible for ensuring the reports were finished after the two employees left and did not ask her what role she should have played in ensuring the reports were completed.
I realize that we can get only a flavor of the proceedings from the media's coverage. And I understand first-hand how ridiculously slow the wheels of governmental bureaucracy turn. But, based on what appears to be a softball inquiry into the deaths of ten children, it's not unreasonable to wonder how many more children have to literally lose their lives while Exec. Dir. Karen Beye still maintains her Ritter-appointed post. "Where does the buck lie?" you asked? Figuring out who had what file when is the last question on my list. I'm honestly gobsmacked by your limp rhetoric. If the buck doesn't stop with Beye, what on earth is she still doing in that job?
Look at it this way: Gov. Ritter is a lame-duck governor. Firing Beye (or calling for her resignation, etc.) shows the State, and its most vulnerable citizens who are thrown into the dysfunctional machinery that is the DHS, that the House panel is, indeed, serious about its work. You've heard the saying, "Fish rots from the head down"? No legitimate overhaul of the DHS (a foregone conclusion, surely?) can be contemplated without dumping Beye.
Would that those ten children were shown the gentleness and compassion by the DHS that your panel is now showing Karen Beye. Please don't allow politics to overrule your common sense or integrity. As Mother Jones once said: "Pray for the dead, and fight like hell for the living." I think your duty here is clear. Please show some leadership and act on behalf of the children at risk, and their families who are forced to depend on the DHS to do their jobs.
Sincerely,
-- KT
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