To expand upon the discussion of lobbyists in the General Assembly ("Debate on dirty word: 'lobbyist,'" April 4), the most worrisome sentence described the "highest-paid lobbyists — those with the most access to lawmakers and whose voices are heard far more than average citizens." During this legislative session, The Baltimore Sun has published letters from average citizens who testifed before committees on proposed laws and were treated in a disrespectful, disinterested, dismissive and impolite manner. Enough of business as usual!

We need to follow the advice of Senator Evan Bayh. If our elected representative do not govern for the good of the people but rather for the good of well-funded special interests who buy lobbyists and make large campaign contributions, then we should vote them out of office and start over again. Members of the General Assembly, regardless of their political party, must remember that they are there to serve those good, average, tax-paying, hard-working citizens! We need to track the performance of each of our elected representatives in Annapolis and publish these data prior to each election cycle.

Richard Shannahan, Lutherville