On February 10th, 1995, exactly 15 years ago today, an editorial published by the Hutchinson News took Mike O’Neal to task for a willful conflict of interest.

From the editorial:

“O’Neal should never be in a position to be seen as both lawmaker… and lawyer lobbyist.  The web is too tangled.  There must be a way for attorney lawmakers to recuse themselves when they have a direct stake in any matter before the body of public servants who are so important to the people.”

Today Mike O’Neal finds himself in another untenable conflict of interest of his own making, and these words are no less true today, and no less relevant, than they were 15 years ago.