Using ex for job reference maybe not the smartest idea

Your ex has nothing nice to say about you.

Scott Lee Cohen won’t be lieutenant governor of Illinois, and his latest move proves why.

Cohen, a pawnbroker, already had done a lot of dumb things before he won the Democratic primary for the position last week. He is an admitted steroid user who was the subject of numerous complaints for not paying taxes or bills on businesses he owned. His ex-wife said that he abused her, cheated on her and didn’t pay child support even as he spent millions of his own money on his campaign. He had trouble paying his mortgage and has been sued for a number of building code violations.

Despite his background, candidates for lieutenant governor get little scrutiny, largely because the position is so unimportant in Illinois — though there are the occasional notable exceptions, such as when the governor gets removed from office for trying to sell a Senate seat — and Cohen was largely unknown when voters elected him. A day later, though, more of his history came to light and everyone from voters to politicians called on him to quit the race.

He refused and in apparent attempt to prove he was worthy, he called on his ex-girlfriend to speak out on his behalf. Would you want any of your former flames to serve as a job reference for you? No matter how amicably a relationship ends, obviously there are some reasons a pair calls it quits. No one ever breaks up with someone by saying their ex was just too perfect, too wonderful, too giving, too kind or too responsible.

Turns out the Scott’s ex-girlfriend, Amanda Eneman, is a convicted prostitute who told police that Cohen had held a knife to her throat during an argument. Ooopsie. What did he think she was going to say? As if all his other past actions weren’t bad enough, asking an ex to serve as a character witness — even if she isn’t still mad at you for threatening her with a deadly weapon — is just plain dumb. He was charged with domestic battery (he denied the allegations) but the charges were dropped when Eneman didn’t show up in court.

In addition to his other character flaws, Cohen must also be delusional to think his ex was going to say nice things about him. Instead, Eneman came out with a statement that Cohen was unfit for office. Yesterday night, he dropped out of the race, saying the Democrats might not win in the general election if he remained on the ticket. It’s hard to say how much of a role Eneman’s condemnation hurt Cohen, but it certainly didn’t help.

No one should expect their ex to give them a good review. True, some former couples do manage to overcome whatever tore them apart, let the bad feelings fade and manage to get along beautifully. Even so, it’s risky to let them serve as a character witness. If the questioning goes deep enough, pretty soon your ex is blabbing about how you never took out the garbage, kicked the dog, didn’t floss, forced you to go to sex clubs, or some other equally unflattering portrayal.

Still want that job? Then try to make sure your ex is either living on a remote island, dead, or best of all, your spouse. That marital communications privilege can come in quite handy.