DEMOCRAT PARTY CANDIDATES FIELD QUESTIONS

Democrat Party Candidates Field Questions

The Democrat Party Candidates met Wednesday evening at the Lawrenceburg Firehouse on Tate Street to introduce themselves and answer questions from the voters in attendance.

DEMOCRAT Candidates present were:

Tom Cheek running for state rep D-67 against Frye (SW side of Dearborn County and other counties west of Dearborn)

Alan Miller running for Judge Superior Court 2 against Blankenship

Phil Darling running for D-1 Commissioner against Lynch

Tom Orschell running for D-2 Commissioner against Little

John Johnson running for Council at large running against Barrett, Keyes, Lyness, and Ullrich (top 3 vote getters win)

Rudy Howard running for Clerk of Courts against Probst

No local Democrat candidate is facing an opponent in the primary.

Candidates exhibited a good amount of work and life experience and qualifications for the offices they are seeking. Some had additional detailed ideas for more efficient ways to do business in those offices. In their answers and introductions fiscal conservatism was a theme. They are open to ideas (and have several of their own)to streamline the budget and make the system more effective. Several of the candidates have advanced technological skills and college and/or graduate degrees.

Questions from the audience included civil rights issues in workplace testing, revoking the law allowing straight ticket voting with a single stroke, council and commissioners communicating with each other, working with employees in the county to improve workplace operations and public service, referendum limits for the jail project and others, revising rules on spending riverboat savings account money, generally accepted accounting procedures and budget items that have other money sources not shown in the budget, using TIF districts for development of industry, and certain positions seem to require skills that are not required to hold that office- should they be appointed or elected?

A few interesting highlights that were put forth by candidates:

1. There are 9 entities that arrest people that end up in our jail. Dearborn County (non municipal area) only accounts for half the jail population.

2. Voting records on Council show that local Democrats are more fiscally conservative than the local Republicans.

3. County attorneys do not have access to the internet in the courtrooms, but the prosecutors do.

4. Government needs to be balanced. One-party monopolies are not good for our county citizens.

5. Fairness in budgets, in treating citizen issues, and in the courts is a primary goal.

And for a little humor:

6. Trying to get service in a poorly run government office is as close to purgatory as you can get.

Any candidate wishing to put forth a positive summary and/or website information on their campaign is welcome to send it to the Dearborn County Public Forum by clicking on the link at the top to submit to the blog administrator.

Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township