The N&R’s Jim Schlosser tries to figure out how Michael Decker kept getting elected:
As former Republican state Rep. Michael Decker began serving a four-year prison term last week on federal corruption charges, the question isn’t about what he did wrong.
He admitted in court he received $50,000 in 2003 from Democratic House Speaker Jim Black to switch parties, a move that allowed Black to remain in power.
The more intriguing question is how Decker won election to the General Assembly in the first place — and stayed there. Surveys rated him consistently as one of the least effective House members. Yet, he remained in the House for 20 years.
