Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2007 > October > 05 > Entry
Clark State favor to Hobson looks bad
So Clark State Community College has named its new building after Rep. David Hobson, huh?
Bad form. He is an active politician, after all.
Unless he decides to retire, he’ll be on ballots again. For a tax-supported institution to be giving him this kind of boost č awarding him official icon status č is more useful to him than a campaign donation, which, of course, the school couldn’t give him.
Others have done similar things, of course. But the hazards have long been recognized.
When some people wanted to name a boulevard after John Glenn some years ago, they called it Col. Glenn Highway. That name makes clear, at least, that they aren’t honoring his performance as a senator.
Clark State is, of course, honoring Rep. Hobson’s performance as a congressman, most specifically his help in getting the money for the building č and generally fighting the fight for it -č that is named for him. (It’s across Col. Glenn Highway and the interstate from Wright State University.) The whole thing could hardly look more political.
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