County needs a non-partisan commission
EDITOR:
We are witnessing how hyper-partisan politics is negatively affecting our country at the national and state levels.
And now Republican Party leaders in Anderson County are trying to politicize the Anderson County Commission and bring this level of divisiveness to the local level. In 2022, Anderson County voters will once again elect their representatives for the traditionally non-partisan County Commission. Because the Commissioners are non-partisan, they can work together and represent their constituents. However, for the 2022 election cycle, the leaders of the Anderson County Republican Party have filed papers with the Election Commission to include County Commission seats in the Republican primary in May 2022; the result of this is the August election of County Commissioners would be a partisan race.
Why does it matter if County Commissioners are partisan or non-partisan? Until now, our commissioners have worked cooperatively to govern Anderson County regardless of their political leanings. With this cooperation, free of party ideology, our Commission has functioned well and governed for the good of our county. Commissioners should represent the people who live in their district and should be able to discuss issues and vote in their constituents’ best interests. Local government should not be turned into a divisive body in which a partisan agenda supersedes the interests of the constituents. Why is the Republican leadership in our county trying to change how we elect our commissioners? Would this change improve how our government functions and improve our lives?
The answer is clearly “No!”
Partisan politics have become more and more divisive and the people of Anderson County would not be well served by bringing partisanship to our local county governing body. We must act to prevent the politicization of the County Commission. Contact the Anderson County Election Commission, 865-457-6238, and tell them that we do not want our County Commission elections to be partisan.
Ellen Faby
Clinton