Donna Jones

The Statesman reports today that Donna Jones is still undergoing a lengthy recovery after her recent auto accident.  The article says her duties have been assumed by her second in command.

Now, I've not been a fan of Donna Jones, though it's really not her fault.  She seems perfectly fine and a nice lady. I just think it's ridiculous for the state's head bookkeeper to have only a GED for an educational attainment credential.  But, Idahoans in the infinite wisdom elected her over the gal with the MBA in finance and economics.  If you compare the records of the two, it's apparent that Jackie Groves Twilegar is a widely accomplished woman with an impressive track record, and that Jones is just a political hack (Okay, hack isn't fair, I suppose, but politics and real estate are her only claims to fame).

But again, not Donna's fault, and she was fairly elected.  So, I wish Donna well in her recovery.   But I think she should resign.  She's 72 or 73, and she's going to be out of commission for a long time.  She's obviously not doing her job; can't, and won't for quite a while.  Her term doesn't expire until 2015, and it's possible that  she'll miss half of it.


Maybe it'll happen; doubt it.  But, what I want to know in the meantime is:  Will she draw her salary during her entire convalescence?  I believe that as an elected official, she's not subject to the various requirements of   having to use sick leave or FMLA.  I think she can just keep drawing that full time salary as long as she's in office.

Also, did her replacement get a salary boost commensurate with his new duties?  Did they back fill that guy's duties?  I hope some traditional media journalist will look into the money issues.

An, BTW Donna, it's sure nice to have a good health insurance policy as a state employee, isn't it?  Wouldn't it be great if all Idahoans had that?