Issues
A candidate’s issues are the
heart of the race. This is certainly true about me and our race. The
main issues for this election are: preservation of functional
democracy in Rock Island County, how I will work to make that happen
if elected, my core beliefs and personal attributes, and finally
individual issues. I will address each in turn.
Democracy
The balance of power on the Rock Island
County Board is 24 Democrats to 1 Republican. That single Republican
represents our District. Late last year, when Jim Sallows resigned
his seat after years of community service and his wife Sharon agreed
to finish out his term but not to run for another, a situation was
created in which the ratio of power would have shifted to 25:0 if no
one had stepped forward and offered to run. When both Jim and my
political party encouraged me to run, I could not refuse.
The current situation is lopsided, but
at least there are two voices active in government. We have a
functioning two-party democracy. If we had not stepped forward to
run, Rock Island County would have shifted into a broken, one-party
oligarchy. That’s how they ran the old Soviet Union. I have not
yet met a soul who believes that American democracy is best served by
one voice with one party controlling everything. This race may appear
to be about a seat on the County Board. To me it’s much more.
It’s about whether or not Rock Island County is going to remain
a functional two-party democracy.
If Elected
How can I be effective if the ratio on
the board is 24:1 or hopefully 23:2, as we also have Emmet Granado
running a strong race in Moline? First, I can work hard, speak up,
and represent the interests of the Upper County. I will do that.
However, to understand the greater impact that I can have, one needs
to appreciate the very clever way that the folks down in Rock Island
run our County. Nearly all County Board votes, including the recent
pay raise, are unanimous. Our research has shown that in 2007 of the
thousands of individual roll call votes cast; only two were “No.”
All the rest were “Yes.”
This means that the real decisions are
made in committee meetings. Consequently, little public scrutiny
falls upon the actions of the County Board. Committee meetings
receive almost no coverage because committee reports are nonbinding
until the whole Board votes upon them. County Board meetings receive
little coverage because unanimity is boring news.
My undergraduate degree is in Mass
Communication with an emphasis in advertising & public relations.
I worked in AM radio for eight years in Denver, Colorado. The second
Master’s degree that I am currently pursuing is in
Communication with an emphasis new media. I know how to work with
media and the tools that the media use today to keep abreast of
developing concerns. This website and its associated blog along with
flash e-mails to key media members will inform them and ultimately
the public about the goings-on at the county seat.
Now, I’m a nice guy. I’m
not the kind of fool who picks fights, troubles sleeping dogs, or
swats at hornets’ nests. I will be diplomatic about it, but I
will hold their feet to the fire and make sure that the County Board
majority is accountable to the public. Remember as I said before, we
need two voices for democracy to stay strong.
Core Beliefs
Since political realities prevent me
from making a lot of big claims about individual initiatives that I
will “promise” to push through, I will briefly describe
some of my core beliefs about government. I, like Abraham Lincoln,
believe that the purpose of government is to do collectively what we
cannot do individually. Other than that, I believe that the
government should stay out of the citizens’ way and not burden
the people needlessly. I believe in basic services delivered
effectively and efficiently. I want a government that is light and
lean and I believe in low taxes. You earned your money. Why shouldn’t
you keep it?
Lastly, I’m a man of integrity. I
will represent the Upper County in a manner that is consistent with
what I’ve just said. You may not always agree with me and
that’s a good thing. As I’ve mentioned before, too much
agreement is one of the problems with the way the County Board has
been run in the past. However, even if we don’t see eye to eye
on a particular issue, you’ll know that I am honestly doing
what I believe is in the best interest of the First District and Rock
Island County at large and I’m always willing to listen.
Individual Issues
Since I entered this race and have been
talking with the good people of the Upper County, I’ve found
that everyone has an issue that matters to him or her and that almost
everyone’s most important issue is different. It could be a
local referendum, which is not a County Board issue, even though I
have come out publicly on some of these matters. It might be a
national issue. Lately, it’s been a lot about water drainage.
We don’t have time or space to list every issue that’s
important to everyone, knowing full well that we still might miss
yours. So, use the contact information on this website to get in
touch with me if you would like to talk about a particular issue and
check in frequently for updates to this site.
We need your vote on November 4. Thanks
for being the kind of concerned citizen who takes the time to
investigate candidates.
Rich
