vision2020
Re: optional forms of government
Dear Sam,
You are running for county commissioner, I assume, because you believe you
can be trusted with running the county, and appointing the folks who work
for you (e.g., the planning office, all the commissions, the folks who do
welfare, etc.) on the basis of competence and not partisanship.
Why shouldn't I trust you or even your opponents (who presumably
believe the same thing) to take the sheriff, the assessor, the clerk,
etc., a good bit further outside of politics than they are now, and
appoint them on the basis of competence and experience?
I suggest that national experience shows that appointed law enforcement,
or assessment, or tax collection, is
more professional and competent than directly elected politicians,
especially when you go through the buffer of a county manager. Someone
wrote privately to me pointing out that we don't need any more "Buford
Pussers" out there--since it was private, I won't use the author's name,
but I will steal the line.
Kenneth S. Gallant
Moscow, Idaho 83844-2322 USA
208-885-6541 (phone)
208-885-4628 (fax)
gallantk@uidaho.edu
On Mon, 19 Oct 1998, Sam and Debbie Duncan wrote:
> Kenneth, your argument presupposes that people vote strictly on a party
> basis and not for the qualifications of the individual seeking office. I
> think some do but most don't. In fact very few vote. Leaving the selection
> of sheriff and assessor to the majority party of commissioners would be
> even more partisan and good old boy politics. I sure don't want these two
> picking my sheriff.
> Sam Duncan
> sduncan@turbonet.com
>
> ----------
> > From: Kenneth Gallant <gallantk@uidaho.edu>
> > To: bill london <bill_london@HOTMAIL.COM>
> > Cc: vision2020@moscow.com; letters@moscow.com
> > Subject: Re: optional forms of government
> > Date: Saturday, October 17, 1998 10:57 AM
> >
> > Bill's posting raises some of the important issues concerning optional
> > forms of government. I still believe a vote to ADOPT is best, by a wide
> > margin.
> >
> > Why should elective politics be out of the choice of assessor, sheriff,
> > and other officers? Well, I think we remember a former sheriff who was
> > accused of hiring and firing deputies for political reasons. I live
> > outside Viola, and don't want my local police chosen on a partisan basis.
> > Let's put it this way: For those of you who live in Moscow, would you
> > prefer to elect your police chief in a partisan election?
> >
> > I would also prefer it if my tax assessor were not chosen in a partisan
> > way.
> >
> > Do you think the best possible law enforcement officer or tax assessor
> > wants to run for office every few years? On average, I would suggest
> > probably not.
> >
> > And I want good officials turned out of office due to term
> > limits, which I think is scheduled to happen to our current assessor
> > pretty soon.
> >
> > Bill is worried about concentration of power, with two commissioners
> > shutting out the third. Unfortunately, that can happen now, and the
> other
> > elected officials can do nothing about it. That's a problem of
> > democracy--majorities rule. What the County Manager system does is
> > provide some insulation from partisanship for the services that the
> > county actually delivers to the people.
> >
> > Bill suggests that Commissioners not surrounded by other elected
> officials
> > could become corrupt. This is why the Study Commission kept an elected
> > Criminal Prosecutor--to act as a check on possible corrupt officials.
> >
> > Unfortunately, corruption can happen even where there are
> > other elected officials. My favorite (or least favorite) example is
> > Oklahoma in the early
> > 1980's, where about 150 current and former county commissioners were
> > jailed for corruption. (On average, I find Idaho government less corrupt
> > than most places I have lived.)
> >
> > Where would we get a good county manager? Probably from the same places
> > Moscow has gotten good city managers. Would it cost something? Yes, but
> > not much more than the suggestion Tom Idol (the one member of the Study
> > Commission against this change) made to hire an Administrative Services
> > Manager to deal with the administrative problems in Latah County. After
> a
> > breaking in period, I suggest the new system will be more efficient than
> > the old.
> >
> > Now it will be a bit difficult to vote at all on this issue, and you
> can't
> > vote Yes or No. You have to go way to the back of the ballot, after all
> > of the state issues, and there you will see a page on Optional Forms of
> > County Government. I urge you to vote on the line that says
> >
> > "In Favor of Adopting the Commission-Manager form . . . .."
> >
> >
> > Kenneth S. Gallant
> > Moscow, Idaho 83844-2322 USA
> > 208-885-6541 (phone)
> > 208-885-4628 (fax)
> > gallantk@uidaho.edu
> >
> >
>
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