Senator John Unger (D-Berkeley) should be one of the trustworthiest people in the Senate. After all, he was assistant missionary to Mother Teresa and a Rhodes scholar. But not only is he under investigation for allegedly bribing poll workers, he is having difficulty with simple arithmetic.
Senator John Unger supposedly lives in Martinsburg — at least that is what his election papers say — but the address he uses is his mother’s. Is the grown Senator still living with Mom? Sources tell me no. But Unger’s only other public address is a P.O. Box. Unger cannot be living there either.
Where Unger lives would be his business entirely were it not for one point: we, the taxpayers of West Virginia, reimburse the legislators 40.5 cents per mile for whatever distance they list.
Unger claimed the longest distance of any legislators from his home to the capitol: exactly 330 miles. But Senator John Yoder (R-Jefferson), who lives further away in Harpers Ferry, only claimed 324 miles and Delegate Walt Duke (R-Berkeley), also a Martinsburg citizen, claimed 306.9 miles.
Couple that with the fact that the distance from Momma Unger’s house (the only physical address we know of) to the capitol is roughly 306 miles according to Google Maps (306 mi.), Yahoo Maps (305.4 mi.) and Mapquest (306.14 mi.), and something is a little fishy.
Sources speculate that Unger may be taking a longer route to get to Charleston. If that is so not only is it costing the taxpayer more, the circumlocutory route is partially a toll-road. Each time the Senator passes through the gates, we pick up the tab.
But it gets better. Rumors are circulating in Unger’s district that he has purchased a place in Kanawha County. After investigation, there is no proof that Unger has purchased property outside his district, yet sources tell me he is an almost daily visitor to the capitol. Is he driving over 300 miles each morning? I doubt it. Following in the footsteps of his mentors, Delegate Kiss (D-Raleigh) and Senator Chafin (D-Mingo), Unger must prefer to live in the capitol city and rent.
Where Unger pillows his head is none of our concern except when he seeks to extort money for extraneous miles and unnecessary toll road fees. The missionary emeritus needs to be investigated for the discrepancy. After all, the dogs were called out on Senator Facemyer (R-Jackson) for inadvertently being off by 7 miles; a discrepancy of over 20 miles should triple the furor.
Meanwhile, maybe the Senator should go to night classes to brush up on what the distance between point A and point B is.
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© Copyright 1999-2007 William Stewart. All rights reserved.
Comments
Will:
I lived in Shenandoah Junction, WV (Small town in Jefferson County near Martinsburg and Shepherdstown)and commuted back to Charleston, WV (Where I now reside) every other weekend to see family. I am extremely familiar with the drive and can tell you that 330 miles is crap. I drove 308 miles from my office in Charles Town, WV (this route took me by Martinsburg on I-81) to Charleston’s West Side. Mother Teresa would be ashamed at the Senator’s poor arithmetic skills.
Keep up the good work.
danny
Who is responsible for checking up on - and, when necessary, punishing - elected officials for lying and stealing from the public? If the accusations against Unger are true, he needs to be outed, and quickly, not just because he is a lying thief (1.e., a politician) but because if he gets away with it, more of them will follow his lead.
Why not have the senate and house use the mileage that mapquest pulls up? Would it not be simple to give your address, the address of the capitol and then use those numbers? Also, then the member could try to find a shorter/quicker way and use those numbers -AND tout they are saving the state more $$…
I think one could allow for a mile or so off the interstate to get gas and another mile for eating. This would add up to four miles each way for those going distances - still this does not add up to the extra 16 miles - perhaps there is an interesting place to stop on the way to Charleston??
All members and staff are supposed to use the shortest route available. If they decide to go the longer route, they are “supposed” to only be allowed expenses for the shortest route.
Let’s see here: Craig Blair who lives in Hedgesville (6 miles from Martinsburg) drives 283 miles to Charleston…
330 - 283 = 47
Go 47 miles from Hedgesville IN the district, one will either live OUT of state or OUT of district.
“Mother Unger” is one of those things we should fear, professional politicians.
(We have several more who fit this description: Strom Thurmond, RCByrd, for two.)
George Washington set the ultimate example by serving only eight (8) years. That’s enough for ANYONE.
Let’s get back to the original intent of having “citizen public servants.” The idea is that competent, trustworthy, citizens of high accomplishment and integrity would serve their fellow countrymen by “taking their (short) term” in office AND THEN RETURNING TO THEIR NORMAL, REGULAR PROFESSIONS.
Unger has had his turn. I don’t know what profession he can go back to since Mother Teresa has passed on, but I’m sure he can find some sinecure with a like-minded benefactor. Let’s let him go back to civilian life.
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[…] Senator John Unger (D-Berkeley) We know from last election’s scandal where Senator John Unger tried to buy votes with blue books that nothing makes his heart beat quicker than the grand cerulean oracle. Or you could offer to fix his odometer. For the budget conscious a map of the Senator’s district would suffice. […]