Goodbye and good riddance to Madison Cawthorn, who officially no longer represents North Carolina in Congress.
Unfortunately, he didn’t leave office without failing his constituents one last time.
According to a statement issued by his successor, former state Sen. Chuck Edwards, Cawthorn’s office did not transfer official constituent casework before leaving office, and repeated attempts to reach Cawthorn or his staff have gone unanswered.
Of course, constituent services are a key part of the job, and it’s the outgoing member’s responsibility to ensure their constituents are taken care of when they leave. The deadline to transfer casework was Dec. 23, Edwards’ statement said.
Edwards touted constituent services as a top priority throughout his campaign, and he is now asking anyone with outstanding casework to call his office. After Cawthorn shuttered his offices to new constituent casework in November, Edwards offered to use his office in the state legislature to help constituents with federal issues.
Members of Congress help their constituents with everything from veterans’ benefits to financial aid and visa assistance, so Cawthorn’s behavior is inexcusable. It hurts residents of the 11th Congressional District — there are nearly 750,000 of them — who deserve a representative who works for them.
But Cawthorn basically checked out after losing his primary in May, and even before that, he wasn’t around much. His constituent services were lacking, he missed a whole lot of votes and, by his own admission, he built his congressional staff around “comms not legislation.” Cawthorn confirmed last week that he has since moved to Florida — something that many had suspected for months.
That’s what you get, however, when you elect unserious candidates who care more about lip service than leadership and legislating. As dangerous and embarrassing as Cawthorn’s attention-grabbing antics have been, what is perhaps most unforgivable is his desertion of the people who elected him.
But as of last week, Cawthorn’s career in public service is mercifully over for his constituents and North Carolina. We can only hope his public life fades as quickly.
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