Friday, October 27, 2006

Monroe County elections

♣ The Herald-Times endorsed the Republican judge candidates on Tuesday. Francie Hill is qualified and earned the endorsement. Jeff Chalfant has served the county well as a judge, so there is no reason to replace a qualified incumbent.

♣ Sam Allison criticized the "banker's hours" at the Recorder's Office in Tuesday's H-T. While the criticism is legitimate, that same criticism can be applied to every office in county government, from the Building and Planning departments to the Auditor and Treasurer. Perhaps these departments could flex employee time to keep the offices open longer, but that could create a staff shortage during the day and there is the issue of how much it would cost. Nonetheless, this is something county government should consider.

♣ The H-T fumbled the next day in endorsement for Sheriff, for one simple reason: character matters. Jim Kennedy went to Friday Lunch Bunch a couple months ago and spoke favorably of cutting social services to make sure essential functions of county government like law enforcement get the required resources. He then lied about what he said when I accurately reported his comments. Monroe County does not need a liar like Kennedy as Sheriff.

♣ The MCCSC School Board races are dismal this year. There is only one candidate in all of the districts who I am confident will serve the taxpayers and children well on the board. I will be enthusiastically voting for Mike Bissey. I think it would be a good idea to consider making School Board races partisan, because giving the Republican Party a reason to field candidates would provide a better opportunity to get some good conservatives to run.