Warning: Trying to access array offset on false in /var/www/austintalks/wp-content/themes/austintalks/partials/content-single.php on line 48
U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis has the third-worst voting record in the state, according to an analysis published by the Chicago Tribune earlier this week that cited data from GovTrack.us.
The Tribune’s story focuses on Congressmen Bobby Rush and Luis Gutierrez, both Chicago Democrats, who top the list for having missed the most votes on the House floor among the state’s 19-member delegation.
According to the Tribune report, Rush has missed 13.2 percent of the votes taken and Gutierrez 11.6 percent since they both entered office in 1993, ranking in the top 10 overall worst out of 435-members in the nation.
Davis, who has been in office since 1997, missed 5.7 percent.
While both Rush and Gutierrez turned down interview requests from Tribune reporters, Davis did speak with AustinTalks Wednesday.
“Everybody misses some votes,” he said from his office in Wasington D.C.
“I’ve run for public office,” and when someone runs for office they “need to be where they’re campaigning,” he said.
Davis said the data released by GovTrack.us isn’t a good way to compare votes since it doesn’t show the details about the individual issues being considered.
Davis said many of the votes he’s missed are “suspension votes,” like naming “a post office after somebody in the Virgin Islands.”
He said he has chosen to miss these types of votes because other more important things have come up, such as giving a speech or attending a funeral.
But Davis said he’s even missed funerals when he felt the issue he was to vote on was more important.
Staff for both Rush and Gutierrez cited personal and polotical reasons for the two congressmen missing votes.
To read the entire Tribune story, click here.
Pingback: West Side congressman ranks third in most missed U.S. House votes « sarahpawlowski