Dear editor:
The Ouachita Speaker Series recently announced the three speakers for the 2014 fall series. One of them is Villager Randy "Duke" Cunningham, Vietnam War veteran and former Navy pilot who later went on to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.
While serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, Cunningham accepted millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for awarding contracts in defense work. In 2005, Cunningham pleaded guilty to tax evasion, conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud and wire fraud. At the time, the bribes were the largest known to have ever been accepted by a member of Congress. He did not even resign from the House until after he entered his plea.
Randy Cunningham broke the public trust and betrayed his country. His lack of ethics as an elected official was a crime against every citizen in this country.
There are thousands of intelligent, talented, interesting people in the Village and the Hot Springs area that should be recognized and be given the opportunity to share their experiences. Cunningham is not one of them.
Come on, Ouachita Speaker Series, you can do better than this. Shame on you!
Colleen Boardman
Hot Springs Village
Editorial on 07/30/2014