We try our best to have respect for our elected officials. Most of them run for office with the best of intentions and sincerely try to be good representatives of the people who have elected them.

 There are exceptions, however. Toney Collins, who represents District 95 that covers parts of Newton, Rockdale and Gwinnett counties, was elected to this office in the general election solely because he had a "D" after his name. He and many others across the country rode to office upon the coattails of President Obama.

  Before, during and since the election, he has continued to do nothing for the voters either the voters who voted for him or any of the others in his district.

 We have taken to calling him "No Show" Toney because of his lack of attendance, to our knowledge, at any community functions.

 Up until last week, none of our employees had ever met Mr. No Show. We finally did for a few moments at the state capitol last week, only because a local lobbyist we know fetched him for us. The fact that he was even present surprised us.

 We invited him to meet with us to explain his lack of participation in district affairs, and to give us an explanation on his political non-activity in his district.

 We have not heard from Mr. No Show since our brief conversation.

 We have no respect for Toney Collins as a politician, and he has proven to us that he is not man of honor either.

 He has stated that he plans to run again for this seat. We hope there are no convenient coattails for him to ride next time.