When I hear about county clerks who have decided to quit over their bigoted objection to gay marriage, I don't find myself getting upset.
In Texas, County Clerks are elected and serve 4-year terms. They must be at least 18 years of age and they don't need a college degree. In cities with a population of 100,000 or more, their salaries range from $55,826 per year (Kaufman County) to $143,634 per year (Tarrant County).
Teachers in Kaufman County make $38,248 per year as a starting salary, and $44,361 per year after 10 years of experience. Teachers in Tarrant County make $41,083 per year starting out, and $50,272 after a decade of work.
Teachers can be, and often are, fired for publicly stating their positions on political and social matters. They can be fired for being seen by parents while having drinks after work. They can be fired for their students not performing well on the STAAR tests. For the most part, Texas teachers do not have contracts extending more than 1 year, which in reality is a contract binding them to the district rather than preventing the district from firing them.
Oh, and public school teachers typically have to have a college degree, and all the student loan debt that comes with it.
So when I hear about county clerks who have decided to quit over their bigoted objection to gay marriage, I don't find myself getting upset. I find myself smiling. Someone will be willing to step up and do the job. Heck, any 18-year-old is qualified.
Michael Messer
Friendly Neighborhood Democrats
Click to read more about the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on Marriage Equality.
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