A tragic fall

Sheldon Killpack understands how dangerous and irresponsible it is to drive drunk. Last year, when speaking in support of a tough DUI bill, he told lawmakers that when he was a teenager, his father was killed by a drunken driver.

That makes Killpack's arrest last week on suspicion of driving under the influence doubly tragic and difficult to understand. It speaks to the complex nature of human frailties, or perhaps even to the false sense of entitlement that sometimes comes with power. His arrest and his alleged refusal to submit to a breath test smack of arrogance and hypocrisy unbecoming a public servant.

But Killpack's decision to subsequently resign his seat in the Utah State Senate, along with his position as majority leader, shows he still knows how to make right decisions. The public entrusts lawmakers to write laws that, as this demonstrates, apply even to them. They expect those lawmakers also to respect the laws they have written.

As he said at the news conference announcing his decision, Killpack now has become a distraction, which would make it difficult for him to be an addition to the upcoming legislative session. As the nation has witnessed a lot lately (former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford come to mind), politicians can make their own personal problems into the public's problems by refusing to take responsibility. Those problems take on a soap-opera quality as they drag on and on, sapping political energies and feeding public cynicism. Killpack's decision to spare Utahns that misery was a positive step.

Killpack's voice will be missed. He was co-chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee, which is likely to play a pivotal role this year as lawmakers struggle to pass a meaningful ethics bill. The Legislature is facing intense pressure to do so because of an initiative, currently gathering signatures, which would allow voters this fall to decide whether to impose a tough new set of ethics rules. In recent years, lawmakers have made baby steps toward reform, but without significant steps this year, they may have reforms forced upon them. Killpack was widely seen as a voice of reason and intelligence.

Given the serious nature of his alleged crime, Killpack is fortunate he didn't hurt anyone. Drunken driving is a particularly horrible act because many of its victims are innocent people who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Killpack already knows this. Thanks to his own good legislative work, he now could face serious consequences.