It?s more politics as usual

Once again, our Warren County Commission has voted to deny voters having their say on the size of the Warren County Commission.

This time, the vote was 12-11 against bringing back the resolution, originally proposed by Commissioner Roy Pierce at the February meeting. I commend Mr. Pierce for his courage and consistency on this issue.?I also commend Mr. George Smartt and Mr. Bill Zechman for theirs.

My question for the 12 commissioners who voted to keep Mr. Pierce?s proposal tabled is:?What are they afraid of??After all, this would be a non-binding referendum, meaning our commissioners would still be able to act with impunity on whether to downsize the Warren County Commission to 12 or keep it at 24.?However, they would have the benefit of the ?voice of the people? to help them in making that decision.

I agree with the 11 commissioners who voted to at least consider Mr. Pierce?s proposal.?Apparently, they believe that we deserve to be heard on this issue.?Conversely, I disagree with the 12 who voted to essentially kill that proposal for the foreseeable future.?Their individual motivations for voting as they did are known only to a few.?The results of their actions, however, are known to all.

This latest vote suggests to me that 12 of our commissioners apparently don?t want to know and don?t really care what ?we the people? think.?If they did, they would seek our input.?Instead, they continue to ignore many of the very voters who put them into office in the first place.?By the way, those 12 commissioners are: Terry L. Bell, Teddy D. Boyd, David K. Grissom, Carl L. Hulett, Michael Martin, Wayne Pryor, Bessie Smithson, Danice Taylor, Bobby Turner, Herschel Wells, Herbert L. Wright, and Bill Yancy.

Clearly, there are meritorious arguments on both sides of the issue of the optimum size of the Warren County Commission, just as there are on both sides of the issue of staggering the terms of individual commissioners.? Nevertheless, the Warren County Commission is not the sole repository of reason and rectitude on either of these issues.

Our commissioners should welcome our views that would help them make more informed decisions on matters that affect our representation on the County Commission. ?

Apparently, 12 of them don?t.

When elected officials, at whatever level, grow arrogant and insulated from the people, their actions or inaction on important issues can breed skepticism and even cynicism from the voters they are supposed to represent. In turn, this can lead to apathy and indifference among voters who, with some justification, think they have little or no voice in their own system of government.

The sad result of voter apathy and indifference is low voter turnout at the only polls that really count. Although 12 of our county commissioners can deprive us of an opportunity to voice our views in a non-binding referendum, fortunately, they cannot deprive us of the opportunity to vote, for or against them, in the upcoming elections. So, whether you agree or disagree, with them or me, please vote. ?

Thomas B. Vaughn is a professor at Motlow College and co-host of the WCPI radio show ?Viewpoints,? which is broadcast on 91.3 FM.