Local merchants, ranchers and farmers at a luncheon Monday had the chance to hear four out of five Cochise County Board of Supervisors candidates speak about their positions. The candidates are running for the District 2 supervisory position, which represents Bisbee, Douglas, Elfrida, McNeal, Portal and Tombstone. The luncheon was sponsored by the Douglas Chamber of Commerce at the Gadsden Hotel.
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“I promise to be a one-term supervisor and will step down after four years and help a Mexican-American get elected,” Green said.
Green challenged his opponents to make the same promise.
Green pointed out that in Douglas in 2005 the medium income was about $25, 245 per family and $42,785 per family countywide.
“This represents $17,540 less in purchasing power for people to spend in Douglas,” he said.
Harvey Allen, an Elfrida resident, said he will bring honesty to the position if he is elected. He said that in the 33 years he’s been in business he’s never been sued or been taken to court.
“And a lot of the candidates have not been honest about what they have been saying,” Allen said. “I want to represent the district with the best of my ability.”
Allen said he has been in the well digging business for 33 years.
Charles Flanagan, said that he was asked by many in the county to run for District 2 supervisory position so that he can restore effective representation to the district. Flanagan, a resident of McNeal, said he has the desire to serve the county and the experience of proven leadership.
He asked, "What is the county government supposed to do?” His answer was that it wasn’t doing a good job of serving the county, although there are a few who are working hard and diligently. But mostly it has lost its sight of outcome-oriented approach.
“I have received many complaints about the Planning and Zoning department, which has grown too big, while others remain stagnant or weak,” he said. It’s trying to turn rural communities into urban communities and it sets up rules that it cannot enforce, he said.
He said that many there see the county vehicle fleet as a perk or a right,
“You or I don’t get a vehicle from out employer for work,” he said.
The vehicles should be used for emergency response requirements only, he said “Why should the taxpayers have to pay for that perk?” he said.
Flanagan said he has been responsive to community needs in his previous positions of leadership, and he will be responsive to the Douglas community if elected as supervisor.
Ann English, a McNeal resident, said that what compelled her to run for Cochise County Board of Supervisors was that the current supervisor never returned phone calls.
“And I resented that” English said. “Your concerns should be heard and your calls returned.”
English served on the board about 15 years ago and although some things have changed there, she said, others haven’t, like the problems at Planning and Zoning.
Because of her experience with the board, she said she knows how to work with the board and she knows the process.
“I know how to work with the staff and elected officials,” she said. “I have a better feel for the job than the others who are running.”
Candidate Matt Cook did not attend the luncheon.
Comments
John Juan Brya wrote on Jun 27, 2008 8:30 PM:
H Jackson wrote on Jun 27, 2008 12:14 PM:
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Mike Anderson wrote on Jun 24, 2008 7:38 PM: