This county was born out of necessity. We wanted our independence and to form our own lifestyle and Government. When we went to war, we built thousands of liberty ships. We built a ship ever 3 days. We had billionaires who climbed the ladder of success and now people hate them. Well, there is a fine line between hate and envy.

We had forefathers who cared about the country. Now we accept meteoric politicians to run our government. Yes, we are the government so we are part of the problem. We don’t want to run for office, we don’t want to communicate our concerns with those we elect. Looking at our waning voting record, we don’t even seem to care who is elected.

I have to admit, I have the time to run for office. I might even have the intelligence to hold the office, and what a revoltin’ development this is! I’ve seen it in other people, they are elected to office, ONCE, but don’t run for reelection. I’ve talked to some of them and the reason is often the same. Not enough of our elected employes want to make the right, but unpopular, decisions. Many of the people who we elect to run the government are more concerned about staying in office than doing what is best for the people they are supposed to represent.

I think people like me, who attend public meetings and make sure all the information gets to the voters is as, or more, important, than being an elected employee.

At many meetings I’ve attended, there is information discussed that may be detrimental to a project It usually involves use of tax money. Doesn’t matter to me if I am for or against the project, but I think the taxpayers must be kept aware of how their money is being spent.

Jerry Riley comments for the News Bulletin. He is a retired telecommunications supervisor.