BISBEE — Just a few weeks ago, another hat was thrown in the ring for a shot at the Board of Supervisors District 2 seat and it was that of non-partisan, write-in candidate John Henry Piotrowski.
 John Henry Piotrowski. |
Upon seeing the outcome of the primary election, he decided to register as a write-in candidate despite being told the odds would be against him.
As he states on his Web site: “I like being a write-in; anyone who casts a vote for me has gone an extra mile, bothered to inform themselves of my positions and beliefs through this Web page, and made a conscious decision to change the course of County Government by electing a supervisor for District 2 who will be responsive to their needs and desires, and who will hold that position in trust for the people of the District.”
The McNeal resident has always been interested in politics, though more nationally than locally, he said. Now, however, he feels a need to fill the gap in representation for the district that he suggests was brought on by the silencing of Supervisor Paul Newman and refusing to hold work sessions.
“... There were times when Paul should have been heard by his colleagues, and times when what they heard should have been acted on. In essence, by marginalizing and shunning Paul, the collective voices of District 2 were silenced, and the district suffered,” stated Piotrowski in a phone interview. “My personal philosophy of government is that if people elect to establish government at all, that government ought to properly function from the bottom up, with elected officials who are attentive to the voice of the people who they represent, and responsive to that voice when it comes to setting policy direction.”
Rather than leadership, he believes the residents want stewardship in a supervisor.
“A steward holds a position in trust, and the people of District 2 want a supervisor they can trust not to forget them and act as if he’s an autonomous authority; a supervisor who will keep represent their opinions as fully as possible; a supervisor who will be be their ally against over-zealous county employees,” he said.
He sees the residents of District 2 as independent folks who would rather have less government than more and would prefer being left alone, especially by the Planning and Zoning Department.
On early ballots and election day, voters who want to vote for Piotrowski, can just write in “John Henry” on the ballot, he said. That way a voter doesn’t have to worry about how his last name is spelled.
CANDIDATE PROFILE
Name: John-Henry Piotrowski (writing in “John Henry” on the ballot will be accepted).
Age: 48
Residency: McNeal for 23 years
Married: 4/08 to Cheryl W. Walling
Education: Several different colleges, English major, no degree.
Employment background: Varied; to include bartending, carpentry, group home concealing, mining, oil-field work, guiding, industrial safety, management and grassroots politics.
Community affiliations: Numerous; some conventional, some less so.
Previous offices held: None
Web site: www.johnhenry2008.com/
Q & A
What qualifies you for position?
First and foremost the fact that I only reluctantly volunteer myself to represent the people of District 2 (in many ways I’d much rather pursue my personal happiness and goals). I recognize that I have the education and life experience to perform the job, and to accurately represent the viewpoints and desires of the people who will elect me. District 2 residents want to elect someone who understands their lifestyles and values, and someone who can achieve consensus. I subscribe to the words of Captain McNally, the founder of the Texas Rangers, who said that, “You can’t stop a man who knows that he’s right, and keeps on coming,”
And I have the strength of character to represent what the people of my district believe to be right, even in the face of countervailing opinions. I’m able to work with others, and open-minded enough to recognize that different people can hold differing viewpoints without someone being necessarily “wrong” and someone “right,” but I believe that an elected representative is bound to represent the viewpoints of the people who elected that representative, as opposed to assuming an autonomy that is not theirs in a democratic system.
The county budget stands at nearly $200 million. What cost saving methods would you promote?
I would ask department heads to reorder their priorities with a view toward necessary services and cost-savings. I would encourage department heads to cut the fat and relocate employees to positions that serve the public. I would require department heads to balance their budgets to operate on money we have now, not money we anticipate “next year.”
When a position becomes vacant I would require careful review before filling the job, following a Libertarian theory that the simplest way to reduce the size of government is through natural attrition.
I would hold the department heads personally responsible; all too often responsibility becomes diffuse in any bureaucratic system and citizens become frustrated by their inability to find someone to hold accountable when government proves to be non-responsive or invasive.
I would monitor state budget discussions and lobby for the counties, opposing further attempts to raid local coffers to make up the shortfall.
And finally, I would make the budgeting process accessible to the citizens of the county; there is a wealth of ability among the residents of Cochise County, and given a chance to participate, I’m pretty sure that they could contribute to a vastly improved final draft.
Do you approve of power from renewable sources and what would you do to encourage such industries to set up shop in Cochise County?
I absolutely approve of alternative and renewable sources of energy.
We have a public relations officer who could be put to work actively promoting Cochise County as a location for a solar plant. Outreach could become part of the job of the administrator or his deputy.
A lot of farm land lies unused and could provide large areas for solar arrays. We have plenty of open space for building a solar plant and plenty of people who want to work.
While wind power generation is an option, location is critical — there are standards and not all vacant land is suitable. I would direct the planning department to work with a prospective solar plant builder so that the permit process goes easily and smoothly.
Alternative energy will become increasingly prominent in the coming years, and even with the massive Federal deficits that we have (and probably will continue) to accrue, I would expect that monies or tax credits or some other form of remuneration will be made available to municipalities and political subdivisions who are willing to develop alternative energy sources, and I would take care to position Cochise County to receive that type of remuneration.
What is the single-most issue of concern in the county that you would like to address?
I’ll voice two of my “pet” concerns.
The first is that the more populated areas of the county don’t dictate policy over the county. Many District 2 residents are here because they value a rural lifestyle. I would take care to ensure that there is a balance on how funds are spent and are not lionized by the urbanized areas. I would encourage cities to act at that level before requesting action from the board; what is good for Sierra Vista is not necessarily good for McNeal.
My second issue is participation in the day-to-day processes of county government; relationships between the electorate and government on all levels have become dysfunctional, but if democracy can be “healed” on any level it ought to be on a local level.
I would encourage the county to make greater use of the Internet; among other things meetings ought to streamed online.
I would encourage the formation of citizen’s groups that would function like town hall meetings to reach consensus on issues.
I would promote communication via electronic means; Web page updates, easy citizen access via e-mail, and all the other tools that are commonly used in business could be implemented by the county to facilitate involvement, which to my mind is what participatory democracy is properly about.
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