Replace Supervisors

March 23, 2012

Richmond, Iowa

To the Editor:

Although Residents for a Better Richmond (RBR) was originally organized in response to our county supervisors? attempt to force Regional Utilities Service Systems (RUSS) and a wasteful, unnecessary, and unjustified lagoon sewer system on our community, it is not the only concern that Richmond residents have about how our county supervisors operate.

Indeed, Richmond?s recent series of misfortunes has opened our eyes to a number of other troubling issues. It has been a real education for us.

The same disregard for public opinion, and the same refusal to listen to the voters who elected them, was also displayed recently by the majority of Washington County supervisors when they rammed through a zoning law in spite of overwhelming popular opposition.

We feel that these are only two examples which reveal how the majority of our county supervisors misunderstand the proper role of officials elected to represent citizens. They also show our supervisors? contempt for democracy and for citizens themselves.

This was demonstrated at a public hearing last year by County Supervisor Jim Miksch when he blatantly declared, ?I was elected to make decisions, and this is my decision!? Of course it is true that leadership requires decision-making, but it can be done as a citizens? representative, or as a petty autocrat. Indeed, considering the context and tone of his statement, Miksch might just as well have said, ?I was elected to be a dictator!?

In fact, this authoritarian attitude is reflected in the way they conduct business in general.

County supervisors meetings are held at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesdays, which make them inaccessible to people who have to work for a living. Citizens who manage to attend are given a precious few minutes to make comments which must be limited to agenda items, so they very often cannot comment on what is important to them.

In any case, it has also been our sad experience that most county supervisors do not listen to citizens anyway.

Moreover, meetings are often extremely short ? a recent one lasting only 12 minutes! Discussion before voting is frequently so cursory that the outcomes must have been prearranged. Such lack of transparency suggests that our state?s ?open meeting? and ?sunshine? laws are being violated.

We think citizens of Washington County will agree that all of this is simply unacceptable.

Of course, the threat posed by RUSS and its destructive and unjustified lagoon system remains a supreme concern of RBR, and we will do whatever it takes to defend our community.

We have, however, become painfully aware that Richmond?s problems are just the tip of a much larger iceberg, and we remind Washington County citizens that Supervisors Miksch, Rich and Mangold will each be on the ballot in their district in the upcoming primary and general elections in June and November. We urge voters not to miss this opportunity to replace them.

David Rosen

Member, RBR