VOICE highlights importance of local county elections
[Excerpts]
The intense and ongoing scrutiny on the county has been described as unusual, and ahead of the Nov. 3 election, many believe the recent turmoil has helped prompt voters to become more engaged.
“We know the city council is important. The school board is important,” said Sundra Flansburg, a [leader with] local civic engagement group VOICE. “But county government has been invisible in most cases. But we realize in these crazy times there is a lot of power if we get people in the local seats who listen to their citizens.” . . .
“The county budget board makes every single elected person to county office important,” Flansburg said, referring to the eight-person board that approves most financial decisions. “Until we sat down to look at the budget board and the things they get to make decisions on — where the CARES Act money goes — I hadn’t thought of the power of the county clerk and the county court clerk.”
District 1 Commissioner Carrie Blumert said there are several other reasons people are paying close attention to elections and local government this year as well, including social media use and a focus on the criminal justice system.
“During my election two years ago, the general voter didn’t pay attention to county government,” Blumert said. “But people are catching on more to things that are happening in government that they don’t like or don’t agree with.
“Local activism — whether you agree with what they are advocating for or not — has brought more attention to these races.”
Four county seats are up for election this year: District 2 county commissioner, sheriff, county clerk and court clerk.
