Dear Editor:

On March 23, I opened my mailbox to discover a half-page sized Brad Cole campaign leaflet. The leaflet states that “while others sit back as electric utility rates soar . . . Brad Cole is fighting to protect residential customers.” It also contains a faded newspaper headline “Cole: City should seize power system.”

First, I am shocked that a Republican who rose to the ranks of deputy chief of staff under former Gov. (and now convicted felon) George Ryan would suggest such a massive expansion of government. Second, I am disappointed that Mr. Cole, who holds a master’s degree in legal studies, persists in his advocacy for this unrealistic solution. Need I remind Mr. Cole that the U.S. Constitution requires the government to pay “just compensation” for property seized through eminent domain? Mr. Cole has yet to distribute any estimated cost for his proposal or any hint of how these funds are to be raised. The fact is this pesky constitutional just compensation requirement, the cost of assessing the power system’s value, baseline attorneys’ fees and the inevitable litigation costs are more than $100 million dollars and can easily be a multiple thereof.

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Was Mr. Cole sick the day his class was taught eminent domain? Perhaps he didn’t do the reading that day. But surely he has consulted the city’s attorneys and they must have explained the cost of his proposal. Surely his proposal is grounded in factual investigation and due diligence. Surely Mr. Cole’s proposed solution to the very real energy cost crisis that is forcing students and families into financial disaster is not merely a campaign strategy and promise that cannot possibly be kept.

Delio Calzolari Third-year law student