Commissioners serve in a nonpartisan role
EDITOR:
I appreciate the hard work of our county commissioners. They listen to our concerns, serve on committees, participate in county commission meetings, and research issues that impact us.
Fortunately, we choose them in a nonpartisan election. Although commissioners may be Democrats or Republicans, because they serve in a nonpartisan role, we can know they are working for all of us in Anderson County. In a political world that has become more and more divisive, why would we want to push our county legislators toward that decidedly partisan end of the spectrum? Oddly, that is exactly the action the Republican Executive Committee of Anderson County has recently taken by directing the Election Commission to include county commissioners in the party’s primary.
This move requires the candidates to designate party, no longer running as nonpartisan. In addition, the change to partisan nominees might risk excluding excellent candidates from running for office because of restrictions that apply to federal government employees (for example postal workers or those employed by federal agencies in Oak Ridge).
To return to the nonpartisan approach to the election of county commissioners, our county’s Republican Executive Committee should rescind its notice that directs the Anderson County Election Commission to include commissioners on the primary ballot by party.
For the benefit of all our citizens and in the interest of teamwork, not hindered by partisan side-taking, I sincerely hope that the ballot we voters mark in 2022 will have “I” (Independent) by each county commissioner candidate’s name, as has been the successful practice for many years.
Susan Wiley
Anderson County resident
