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Meet the Cass County board candidates
Published 10:40pm Tuesday, July 10, 2012Residents of Cass County had the opportunity to meet candidates for the board of commissioners Tuesday evening and have some of their questions and concerns addressed face-to-face.
Citizens interested in meeting commissioner candidates gathered at the Cass County Council on Aging (COA) Edward Lowe Center to hear introductory statements and ask questions on candidates’ viewpoints in an open forum. The League of Women Voters of Berrien and Cass Counties sponsored the event along with Dowagiac Rotary Club, Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce, Four Flags Area Chamber of Commerce and Leader Publications, who provided reporter John Eby as moderator. With 115 members, Liz Ennis, of the League of Women Voters, said they were often associated with organizing these forums.
“We have a good name for doing this,” Ennis said. “Our sole purpose is to inform the public who is running for public offices.”
Redistricting
Of the 18 candidates in the election, 12 were present for the forum. The redistricting of Cass County has reduced the number of commissioners from 15 to seven, pitting some incumbents and newcomers in a race for the same district. The 12 candidates present at the event included Commissioners Ed Goodman and Bob Wagel, and Jim Jerue, for District 1; Commissioner Ron Francis and Burke Webb for District 2; Commissioner Dwight “Skip” Dyes for District 3; Commissioner Carl Higley, Sr. and David Taylor for District 4; Commissioner Johnie Rodeush for District 5; Bernie Williamson for District 6; and Chairwoman Minnie Warren and Commissioner Clark Cobb for District 7.
Citizens who attended the forum were allowed to freely move from one candidate’s table to the next, prompting open conversation and personal question-and-answer opportunities.
“It was good for me to come and find out specifically who is running for my district,” an independent voter, who asked to be unnamed, said.
“I wanted to come tonight and see what they had plans for in the county, but it was good to be able to speak to the candidates all in one spot.”
Pokagon Township resident Linda Kramb said the forum was informative and gave her a voice to the candidates.
“I basically came to see why they wanted to be a commissioner,” Kramb said.
“I also wanted to know how they would see to the county’s tax dollars being used properly.”
Paulette Nodruff, of Cassopolis, said she worked for the county for 18 years and she had high expectations for the forum.
“I needed to hear what they had to say,” Nodruff said.
For the candidates, the event presented an opportunity for communication and interaction with the voters.
“I think the turnout was pretty good, though I would have liked to see more,” Cobb said, who expressed an interest in translating citizen’s views into his work as a commissioner. “I hope to educate people about the election and the board.”
Wagel agreed, saying he would have liked to see more residents attend the forum.
“I would have liked to see candidates for other offices, also,” Wagel said. “The commission is going to have to look at the issues; with the redistricting, we have a bigger role to fill.”
Williamson, who is among the newcomers to the election, said she decided to run to give the community a voice.
“I’ve always been involved … when the opportunity presented itself, why wouldn’t I take the chance,” she said.
“The role of the commission impacts things that are important to me and even if I’m not elected, I’ll still find another avenue so I can continue to be involved.”
The next League of Women Voters forums are 6:30 p.m. July 19 at Berrien RESA, 711 Saint Joseph Ave., Berrien Springs, for District 78 candidates and Drain Commissioner candidates, as well as 7 p.m. July 25 at the Greater Niles Senior Center, 1109 Bell Rd., Niles, for the Niles Township candidates.
Other candidates running:
Dixie File, District 2
Gordon Bickel, Sr., District 3
Roseann Marchetti, District 4
Shaun Timm, District 5
Robert Ziliak, District 5
Kevin Harris, District 6
In the case of Chairman Warren running for Dowagiac commissioner, voters should remember to consider the following:
1) Why does Chairman Warren currently still have an active lawsuit against her for Intimidation of union members bargaining for their contract?
2) Why, of all other bargaining units has she seemingly had a personal vendeta against the CCIEA and dragged out thier negotiations for 10 months when all others have been settled in a fraction of that time?
3) How many thousands of the taxpayers dollars did she waste fighting against county members of the CCIEA over the last 10 months? Look into the Freedom of Information Act to find out and you’ll be shocked at the sum wasted.
4) Why would any Dowagiac citizen believe that if Chairman Warren treats the employees of Cass county with such open disdane and inconsideration that she would have ANY concern for them beyond her own personal concerns and desires?
5) What sort of integrity can Chariman Warren posses when she changes her party designation from ‘Democrat’ to ‘Republican’ simply to try and keep her job?? Commissioner Goodman himself went from Democrat to Independant to Republican.
6) Why would Chairman Warren and 13 other commissioners agree to in Interim Administrator with a salary increase putting the position at $100,000? Commissioner Cobb and one other rational Commissioner voted against this obscene pay.
7) Why would Chariman Warren and other commissioners vote themselves a 36% salary increase in a time of such national economic troubles?
8) Why is the vote that was taken giving the Chairman position to Commissioner Warren posted as being “secret”??? Could it possibly be because the real results would have made her look bad if they were revealed. Look into it yourself and discover why that one vote was secret but others from that night for other positions were not…
Please be sure not to simply take these polititians at their word – research carefully and make an informed decision come election time. Minutes of the commission meetings are available online and don’t hesitate to confront those looking to be in charge of your tax dollars and ask them point blank why you should believe them and entrust them to do the will of the people? Go to the Commission meetings and see for yourself why some of these polititions deserve not to be left in positions of trust in our community.
Most of what airtek is saying is correct. However, I was at the BOC meeting where they were discussing the 36% increase in salary for the Commissioners and that vote was tabled for sometime in the future because of the valid points made at lowering the Clerk/Register’s pay. Also, I would like to say that, although Chairman Warren has been “the face” of this controversy with the County, there are 14 other Commissioners that have sworn to do the right thing. The situation we find ourselves in as a County cannot entirely be blamed on one person. This is a democracy. Majority rules.
Ravan has several points as well. The 36% increase was tabled but there was only 1 voice of discent among the commissioners against the increase. As for majority rules with 15 members on the commission, that’s fine in theory and would work if there was a drive to actually do the right thing. From what i’ve seen the majority cow-tow to their leader for whatever reason. She alone is spearheading this crusade against this bargaining unit. Additionally, the majority of the other commissioners had no knowledge of what the Chairman was doing in these negotiations for months until the barganing unit finally started speaking out at the commission meetings as they have told us that they’d been provided with little or vastly different information coming from Chairman Warren herself and seemed to continually get false information on the law suit against her (being told by Chairman Warren that it had already been dismissed). True, these commissioners are suppose to work toward what is right and just… but when they are denied information and fed disinformation for months by Chairman Warren whom is also suppose to have sworn to do the right thing and they tend to believe when she gives them information, the ability to make an informed decision is clouded. This is in no way intended to say the commissioners aren’t responsible for their own research, but it’s the head of the organization who has been the corrupting influence in these matters.