When it comes to governing, the process is important. Senate Majority Leader Sharon Treat knows that she and her Democratic leadership colleagues are to blame for the dysfunctional operation of the State Senate, so it makes sense that she would ask Sun Journal readers to focus elsewhere.

The manner in which the Democrats run the Senate creates senseless acrimony in the Legislative process and, worse yet, adds to the costs for the taxpayers.

They got the Special Session off to a very poor start by delaying action in their chamber awaiting the arrival of the senator from Auburn even though the schedule for the session was known weeks in advance.

The problems began long before the start of the session, however. Two months were squandered as Senate Democrats refused to come to an agreement on a bond package. Their unwillingness to compromise spilled over into the session.

One result of the Special Session that Treat neglected to mention is the $300 check every member received for their three days of so-called work – a small piece of the taxpayer dollars spent to keep the Legislature running for three days.

There is no excuse for dragging what should have been a one-day session into a three-day case study in poor leadership. I refuse to profit from it and will be sending two days of my Special Session pay to the Abused Women’s Advocacy Project in Auburn. At least that way, some good will come of this episode.

Rep. Theodore H. Heidrich, Oxford