President's Message
- Volume 52, Number 2 - 2008
With the next election comes a changing of the guard.
This year’s election is one of significance for me, personally.
It is the first time I’ve been unopposed on the ballot for the office of county commissioner. So far, I like this kind of campaign better than the other kind – certainly is less stressful.
But, the November election will be significant for another group of people as well. When we gather for our Legislative Conference in December, we’ll be welcoming a brand new group of county commissioners. They will be fresh off a successful election, and they’ll be certain they are going to fulfill all their campaign promises.
Unquestionably, we look forward to meeting our new friends and to learning from and sharing with them. But, this change in our membership should also always remind us of the need for the “old timers” to emphasize the need for their participation in our Association.
Unlike most other organizations, our group undergoes the possibility of complete turnover every four years. That possibility puts the future operation of county government at almost-constant risk. No other group can speak for and work to protect county government other than county government itself.
Sure, we often find allies on specific issues. In an overall sense, however, if there is going to be a voice for county government in our state, it must come from those of us in county government.
Those outside county government, even some of those who will join us in December, don’t really understand the demands of this position, the responsibilities of serving the public and the challenges of providing services with less revenue almost every day.
At this year’s Annual Convention, we’ll honor a county commissioner who understands this role perhaps better than anyone else in office today. With the longest current tenure on the board of directors of our Association, he served as president of ACCA in 1991 and has remained one of our most dependable leaders since that time. He’ll be honored not for the length of his service, but for the quality of his leadership and the depth of his commitment to this organization and what it stands for across our state.
There are many who do not understand that our state is changing and, consequently, that county government must continue to change. If our state is to become stronger, then it can do so only because of county government, not in spite of it. That message is at the center of everything we have done this year and should guide us in the time to come.
Our board of directors is composed of one county commission member elected from each of our 12 districts, a minority director, three officers (president, first- and second-vice presidents) and all of the past presidents who remain in office. When my tenure ends on Thursday of this year’s convention, I will become a past president on the ACCA Board of Directors.
I am not sure, but suspect that we have fewer past presidents on the board today than any time in the recent past. This points clearly to the importance of our election in August and to the need for each county commission member to be more actively involved in our Association’s efforts.
We present the new commissioners with an immediate opportunity for service during the orientation session. But, those who only attend the training programs really aren’t doing their part to ensure the growth and future of county government. Participation in our legislative efforts, policy initiatives and work against mandates of our services and revenue require more time and dedication.
During my three decades in office, one thing has been consistent – the Association and its policies are shaped by those who give of their time and energy. Those who sit on the sidelines have a very difficult time bringing about change.
The issues that will face those new commissioners will be complex and compelling – reform of borrowing practices, immigration challenges, energy concerns, increased revenue for road and bridge construction, growing demand for law enforcement and jail funding and property tax assessments, just to name a few.
Forging even partially-acceptable solutions on these complicated issues will require the insight, influence and dedication of all county commissioners, not just the few who are elected to the board or who serve on one committee or another.
We will have a new group of faces in December. A new group that isn’t really sure what is expected or what they can accomplish. Those of us who remain must set the right example. It is time for us to redouble our commitment and to demand the same commitment from our new colleagues.
In August, we’ll recognize a colleague who has set that kind of example for all of us to follow – both new and existing commissioners. The membership and new commissioners will show honor to him and all of us who have held the office of president if we pass the torch to those who show up in December.
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