Published: April 11, 2008 12:45 pm            

Political tradition continues at Clark County Casting and Conservation Club

UTICA — The smell of freshly fried fish wafted through the air — coupled with Clark County 2008 primary candidates’ attempts to get their message out — at the Casting and Conservation Club’s Meet the Candidate night and all-you-can-eat fish fry Thursday.

Nearly a decade old, the club has been allowing candidates to tell area residents what they have to offer for almost every major county election.

“It’s been a great turnout (this year), most of the candidates put it on their schedule,” said Mike O’Neil, chairman of the club’s board. “This is not a huge county election, but there are some pretty hot races going on.”

The meet and greet is not a debate, or a question-and-answer session. Candidates get three minutes on the microphone to tell the people in attendance what they’d like to do if elected. It rarely gets heated, but it’s happened before.

“We had a couple contested races a few years back; people got a little hot under the collar,“ O’Neil said. “It’s politics — there’s always a little mudslinging.”

But O’Neil tries to keep things friendly.

“This is not a debate — this is a family show,” he said, informing the crowd before introducing the first candidate. “Keep your negative comments to yourself; don’t boo or holler at them — that has happened before and we don’t want it happening again.

“If you can’t hold them to yourself just step outside for three minutes and come back in when it’s done — simple.”

O’Neil received a hearty laugh from the crowd for that one. It’s a good-natured affair, if only on the surface.

The topic of the night was change, which seems to be the topic of the 2008 elections in general. But the type of change desired varies across the different elections being held this year.

The candidates for Clark County Commissioner are calling for cooperation — not only with the community but between each elected official. Democratic primary candidate and County Council President David Abbott — who is running for the commissioner’s seat in District 2 — has been an outspoken advocate of the need for the commissioners to work together, and the lack of the current commissioners’ ability to collaborate.

“Communication at meetings” is an issue, Abbott said. “I encourage people to show up. The way it is they kind of discourage it.

“I’ll bring the same thing to commissioners as I do with the council — cooperate with the other members.”

Bob McEwen echoed Abbott’s sentiment. A candidate in the Democratic primary for the commissioners’ seat in District 1, he advocated communication not only with county residents, but with each other.

“Leadership is going to be the key, and cooperation,” McEwen said. “We need to build consensus.

“We don’t just need to cooperate with taxpayers and community members, but with the other commissioners.”

Democratic candidate for the commissioners’ seat in District 1 Eric Hedrick advocated the same.

“It is essential for progress that we have cooperation,” he said. “I am not a seasoned politician, but I am ready to get involved with the other commissioners and lead the community.”

Hedrick, an Army veteran, said the county needs to invest more in veterans’ services. Clark county has about 9,200 veterans and probably the lowest paid veterans’ service officer in the state, he said.

Monty Snelling — a Republican candidate running uncontested in the primary for commissioner in District 1 — followed Hedrick and made mention of the help he had given to the county veterans and said that the job of elected officials isn’t easy.

“When I ran for office they told me it was a part-time job — don’t believe it,” Snelling, a current county councilman, told the other candidates. “If you’re going to do anything, you’ve got to be here more than part time.

“You’ve got a lot of people running for office that are very sincere. But there is a big difference between running for office and holding office.”

Most candidates, particularly ones who hadn’t held office, were visibly nervous speaking in front of the crowd, and they chose to tell the group about their family life and their ties to the community. They espoused their connection to residents and their investment in the interests of the county.

“I’ve never run for politician — I’ve never run for the county line,” said Les Young, receiving a laugh from the crowd. “But I’m a lifelong Clark County resident.”



Meet the Candidates

These county residents running for the 2008 election spoke at the Clark County Casting and Conservation Club’s fish fry and Meet the Candidates night.

Coroner

• Edwin Coots, D (Incumbent)

• Adam Koch, D

Superior Court 2 Judge

• Jerome “Jerry” Jacobi, D

• Dan Moore, D

• Shelly Marble, D

• Andrew “Drew” Adams, D

County Council At-Large

• Perry Smith, D

• Chuck Moore, D (Incumbent)

• Kevin Vissing, D

• Steve Doherty, D

County Commissioner District 1

• Ed Meyer, D (Incumbent)

• Bob McEwen, D

• Eric Hedrick, D

• Monty Snelling (Republican; uncontested in primary)

County Commissioner District 2

• Dave Abbott, D

• Keith Coats, D

• Don Guthrie, D

• Les Young, D

• Jack Coffman (Republican; uncontested in primary)

Greater Clark County School Board

District 2

• Jim Wesp

GCCS Board District 5*

• Stacy Wiese

GCCS BOARD District 6

• Bob Burgan

• Jerry White

GCCS BOARD District 7*

• Becka Christensen



* GCCS District 5 candidate Christina Gilkey was not at the event, but Pepper Cooper spoke there on her behalf, and District 7 candidate Charles Neal was not at the event, but Charles King spoke on his behalf.

        

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