That the Dallas County District Attorney Susan Hawk has decided to step down from her job to seek full-time treatment for mental health-related issues deserves credit and praise. Hawk deserves our empathy and support as she moves on to the next phase of her life. As one of the most prominent public figure in Dallas, Hawk has highlighted on a health issue that we often not talk, and much worse, ignore.
Susan Hawk's tenure has been embroiled in controversies right from the beginning, and the situation has gotten worse by the day. She fired her once-trusted lieutenants, behaved in bizarre manners on several occasions and, most important, left the courthouse in a state of administrative shambles. Her First Assistant Messina Madson, working in the Dallas DA office since 2004 after graduating from the SMU Law School, has been steering the boat on behalf of her boss for the past 20 months amid the tumult and turmoil in the courthouse politics. As Hawk left last year for months-long leave to seek treatment on depression at a Houston facility, Madson was left with responsibility to explain the situation to a skeptic Dallas public.
In the contentious election in 2014 between Democratic incumbent Craig Watkins and Republican challenger Susan Hawk, many voters in heavily Democratic Dallas County saw Hawk as a fresh, moderate and reasonable alternative to Watkins, whose many of the reported public conducts were very unbecoming of his office, if not altogether unethical. With Hawk ousting Watkins in 2014 Fall election, the Dallas County residents hoped that they had found in Hawk an unbiased, intelligent prosecutor who would bring sanity, honor and integrity to DA's office. Susan Hawk was also the best hope for re-energizing and rejuvenating the Republican Party in order to offer any meaningful challenge to the dominance of the Democratic Party in Dallas County. All the hope was dashed from the very beginning, and soon, Susan Hawk became a divisive figure and laughing stock in the courthouse and beyond. Even her last public stance on September 6, 2016 that she would resign drew ire from various quarters not because she wanted to step down to seek treatment for mental health, but over the time she had chosen to announce her resignation. Had she announced prior to August 26, there would have been a process immediately being undertaken for an election to be held in November to elect a new DA. Most likely, a Democrat will win that election and have the DA's job. Many people--including political observers and common people alike--believe that Hawk has deliberately delayed her announcement to deprive a Democrat from holding the DA's office. Especially the Democrats are of opinion that, by announcing her resignation after August 26, 2016, Susan Hawk has played the game of political chicanery and given the governor of Texas an opportunity to appoint a new DA. It is a forgone conclusion that Governor Gregg Abbott will appoint a Republican to replace Susan Hawk. Now, the time of Susan Hawk's announcement to resign may have been purely coincidental, but unfortunately, there are only few takers.
Susan Hawk's tenure has been embroiled in controversies right from the beginning, and the situation has gotten worse by the day. She fired her once-trusted lieutenants, behaved in bizarre manners on several occasions and, most important, left the courthouse in a state of administrative shambles. Her First Assistant Messina Madson, working in the Dallas DA office since 2004 after graduating from the SMU Law School, has been steering the boat on behalf of her boss for the past 20 months amid the tumult and turmoil in the courthouse politics. As Hawk left last year for months-long leave to seek treatment on depression at a Houston facility, Madson was left with responsibility to explain the situation to a skeptic Dallas public.
In the contentious election in 2014 between Democratic incumbent Craig Watkins and Republican challenger Susan Hawk, many voters in heavily Democratic Dallas County saw Hawk as a fresh, moderate and reasonable alternative to Watkins, whose many of the reported public conducts were very unbecoming of his office, if not altogether unethical. With Hawk ousting Watkins in 2014 Fall election, the Dallas County residents hoped that they had found in Hawk an unbiased, intelligent prosecutor who would bring sanity, honor and integrity to DA's office. Susan Hawk was also the best hope for re-energizing and rejuvenating the Republican Party in order to offer any meaningful challenge to the dominance of the Democratic Party in Dallas County. All the hope was dashed from the very beginning, and soon, Susan Hawk became a divisive figure and laughing stock in the courthouse and beyond. Even her last public stance on September 6, 2016 that she would resign drew ire from various quarters not because she wanted to step down to seek treatment for mental health, but over the time she had chosen to announce her resignation. Had she announced prior to August 26, there would have been a process immediately being undertaken for an election to be held in November to elect a new DA. Most likely, a Democrat will win that election and have the DA's job. Many people--including political observers and common people alike--believe that Hawk has deliberately delayed her announcement to deprive a Democrat from holding the DA's office. Especially the Democrats are of opinion that, by announcing her resignation after August 26, 2016, Susan Hawk has played the game of political chicanery and given the governor of Texas an opportunity to appoint a new DA. It is a forgone conclusion that Governor Gregg Abbott will appoint a Republican to replace Susan Hawk. Now, the time of Susan Hawk's announcement to resign may have been purely coincidental, but unfortunately, there are only few takers.
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