Amtrak conductor suspended because of Kerry comments

[Ally_Kat]

Amtrak conductor suspended because of Kerry comments


JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — An Amtrak conductor who is a Republican congressional candidate has been suspended without pay for suggesting his train passengers should vote against Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

Conductor Leslie Farr was on a Kansas City-to-St. Louis train that was delayed last Thursday while waiting for Kerry's locomotive to leave St. Louis and head to a Jefferson City rally.

In an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press, Farr said he used the train's public address system to inform passengers they would be delayed because of Kerry's train and quipped that they should vote accordingly in November.

"These people's lives were seriously affected by this, so I tried to defuse the situation," said Farr, 26, of St. Louis. But in retrospect, "I was wrong for making a political comment."

Amtrak has opened an investigation into Farr's actions, accusing him in a letter of violating company policies by making "inappropriate and denigrating announcements" to customers that "caused embarrassment to the corporation and the loss of good will of our passengers." A formal investigation meeting with Farr is scheduled for Thursday.

Farr is the Republican challenger to Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., in the 1st Congressional District and also is a delegate to the Republican National Convention, which will be held later this month.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari confirmed Farr's employment but said he could not comment about personnel issues.

According to Amtrak records, the eastbound Ann Rutledge train left Kansas City about 25 minutes late and was running more than an hour-and-a-half behind — due largely to freight train traffic — when it left Washington, Mo., headed toward St. Louis. The train, carrying 135 passengers, was delayed an additional 84 minutes just outside the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood to allow Kerry's special westbound train to pass.

Farr is not a regular conductor on Amtrak's twice-daily trains between Missouri's two largest cities. Rather, Farr said he was filling in because one of the regular conductors was assigned to Kerry's train.

Farr said that if his political statements were distasteful to some passengers, others likely were offended that Kerry campaign banners were draped over Amtrak property.

While expressing regret about his comments, Farr added: "It's gotten me very, very upset. I feel like I'm being unjustly picked on" by being suspended without pay.

The company complaint also accuses Farr of not wearing his name tag and refusing to identify himself to passengers.


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Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[FORD]

He deserved to be suspended, or even fired, for abusing his position to campaign in that way. These people paid for a train ride, not Bush worship.

I wonder if he's been campaigning for himself as well?

[Ally_Kat]

Originally posted by FORD
These people paid for a train ride, not Bush worship.

Nor Kerry worship. "...Kerry campaign banners were draped over Amtrak property."

[FORD]

Originally posted by Ally_Kat
Nor Kerry worship. "...Kerry campaign banners were draped over Amtrak property."

If the Amtrak employees were campaigning for Kerry, especially to a "captive audience" as the conductor was, that would also be improper. However, it sounds more like the decorations on the platform would be the work of local Democratic party members waiting for Kerry's train.

[Ally_Kat]

Originally posted by FORD
If the Amtrak employees were campaigning for Kerry, especially to a "captive audience" as the conductor was, that would also be improper. However, it sounds more like the decorations on the platform would be the work of local Democratic party members waiting for Kerry's train.

Trust me, when you are sitting on one of those trains, you are a captive audience to anything outside your window, esp big crows and hoopla.

And even if it was just the platform, where is it? Amtrak property. And where would you need to get permission to decorate the station in such? Amtrak.

So why is it that something said within the train is inappropriate, but stuff outside the train still on Amtrk property isn't?

[Warham]

Sounds like Amtrak is torturing their passengers by pulling in front of platforms with huge Kerry banners draped all over the place.

Isn't there something in the Bill of Rights that says no cruel or unusual punishments should be inflicted on our citizens?

[BigBadBrian]

Originally posted by FORD
He deserved to be suspended, or even fired, for abusing his position to campaign in that way. These people paid for a train ride, not Bush worship.

I wonder if he's been campaigning for himself as well?

Hypocrisy at its finest. If he had been fired for criticizing Bush, you'd be foaming at the mouth.

[FORD]

I suggest you research the Hatch act. Orrin the moronic Mormon created this rule, so I guess you can blame it on the Republicans

[John Ashcroft]

Originally posted by FORD
He deserved to be suspended, or even fired, for abusing his position to campaign in that way. These people paid for a train ride, not Bush worship.

I wonder if he's been campaigning for himself as well?

Let's see, he made a mistake, apologized for it, and you want him fired.

Aren't you the same one who said Linda Ronstadts "First Ammendment" rights were violated because some concert-goers walked out on her?

Hipocrisy indeed.

[Keeyth]

Originally posted by Ally_Kat
Trust me, when you are sitting on one of those trains, you are a captive audience to anything outside your window, esp big crows and hoopla.

And even if it was just the platform, where is it? Amtrak property. And where would you need to get permission to decorate the station in such? Amtrak.

So why is it that something said within the train is inappropriate, but stuff outside the train still on Amtrk property isn't?

Because I'm sure Kerry hired the train car as part of his campaign, and paid for the right to hang his shingle out on it. If you don't like it, don't look. but this guy was trying to blame Kerry over a loudspeaker for the fact that the people were being delayed because of him, and then telling them that that is a reason to vote for a criminal in November. Sick...

[Ally_Kat]

Originally posted by Keeyth
Because I'm sure Kerry hired the train car as part of his campaign, and paid for the right to hang his shingle out on it. If you don't like it, don't look. but this guy was trying to blame Kerry over a loudspeaker for the fact that the people were being delayed because of him, and then telling them that that is a reason to vote for a criminal in November. Sick...

Um..Keeyth...they were delayed because of Kerry's train. Kerry's train was sitting in the station while he did a stop and they sat on the track for almost an hour and a half waiting for him to finish.

Have you ever traveled Amtrak? I have. When you sit in one spot for more than 15 minutes, you want to know why. Esp if you have things planned and/or people meeting you at your station and esp if you have a while to sit on the train.

And it was a quip, not an angry speech on why Kerry sucks ass. The one conductor on the Cardinal makes lil quips that the passengers enjoy. We got stuck behind a train carrying logs and he came on saying basically, know you know how to feel about the log company.

And an hour and a half on top of already being 2 hours late. I'm sure those people waiting to get to the last stop where getting pissed. Dealing with the public undersuch circumstances is not an easy thing

Oh, and Keeyth, not look out the window? Again, you obviously haven't traveled on Amtrak for a long period of time.

That and we're not talking about Kerry's train passing the waiting Amtrak train and the passengers seeing a banner over his train. I coudl be wrong, but I believe I read somewhere that he was using Truman's train or something like that. I'm 90% sure that train is not Amtrak property. No. We're talking about the banners and the station.

[Satan]

Originally posted by John Ashcroft
Let's see, he made a mistake, apologized for it, and you want him fired.

Aren't you the same one who said Linda Ronstadts "First Ammendment" rights were violated because some concert-goers walked out on her?

Hipocrisy indeed.

Amtrak is a Federal Train system. Under the Hatch Act, government employees cannot campaign on the job. Linda Ronstadt is not a government employee.

[John Ashcroft]

You know damn well that's about as weak an argument as you can get.

[Viking]

On the face of it, I gotta agree with FORD. He was a Congressional candidate, and he was politicking on company time. It doesn't matter whose colors he wore. There have been plenty of times I've been in the same position, and you just gotta learn to shut your piehole.

[Keeyth]

Originally posted by Ally_Kat
Um..Keeyth...they were delayed because of Kerry's train. Kerry's train was sitting in the station while he did a stop and they sat on the track for almost an hour and a half waiting for him to finish.

Have you ever traveled Amtrak? I have. When you sit in one spot for more than 15 minutes, you want to know why. Esp if you have things planned and/or people meeting you at your station and esp if you have a while to sit on the train.

And it was a quip, not an angry speech on why Kerry sucks ass. The one conductor on the Cardinal makes lil quips that the passengers enjoy. We got stuck behind a train carrying logs and he came on saying basically, know you know how to feel about the log company.

And an hour and a half on top of already being 2 hours late. I'm sure those people waiting to get to the last stop where getting pissed. Dealing with the public undersuch circumstances is not an easy thing

Oh, and Keeyth, not look out the window? Again, you obviously haven't traveled on Amtrak for a long period of time.

That and we're not talking about Kerry's train passing the waiting Amtrak train and the passengers seeing a banner over his train. I coudl be wrong, but I believe I read somewhere that he was using Truman's train or something like that. I'm 90% sure that train is not Amtrak property. No. We're talking about the banners and the station.

Still, it doesn't give him the right to force his political views on a captive audience in a tense situation... ...that's just not right...

[worldbefree]

Originally posted by Warham
Isn't there something in the Bill of Rights that says no cruel or unusual punishments should be inflicted on our citizens?

One could argue that the entire nation has been subjected to this for over 3.5 years.

When I'm riding the train home I don't want to hear any conductors politicking for either party. Just shut the fuck up and punch my ticket.

[Keeyth]

Originally posted by worldbefree
One could argue that the entire nation has been subjected to this for over 3.5 years.

When I'm riding the train home I don't want to hear any conductors politicking for either party. Just shut the fuck up and punch my ticket.

'zactly...

[Ally_Kat]

And when I'm sitting on a 13 hour Amtrak ride with someone meeting me at the station, I want to know exactly why I'm sitting in one place for an hour and half.

[Switch84]

Originally posted by Ally_Kat
Trust me, when you are sitting on one of those trains, you are a captive audience to anything outside your window, esp big crows and hoopla.

And even if it was just the platform, where is it? Amtrak property. And where would you need to get permission to decorate the station in such? Amtrak.

So why is it that something said within the train is inappropriate, but stuff outside the train still on Amtrk property isn't?

Brace yourself, Ally...we're going to see Kerry shit all over McDonalds restaurants next.

Suspended w/o pay was a bit harsh imo. What, you can't crack a joke anymore? My bad...it's only ok if you're slamming President Bush.


THAT was sarcasm, folks....am I to be suspended from posting here now?


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