As you may have read, Benton County has pulled the $60,000 they had promised for the homeless shelter, citing (no pun intended) the reason that they "don't like the location."
Now, let's just take the specific issue (dealing with homelessness) out of this discussion, and look at how our current County Commissioners have behaved in all this. They've made a deal, committed funds, then reneged on it, throwing plans that affect the whole county and involve many groups therein into turmoil. They did so at the last minute.
They also did so as a follow up to Commissioner Anne Schuster's telling inflammatory lies via Facebook. Do I need to say that that sort of behavior is never helpful, and, in this case, seems especially insensitive? We've already got a lunatic in chief who is addicted to tweeting out mistruths - do we really want to emulate that sort of behavior locally?
Taken as a whole, is this the kind of informed, compassionate and professional leadership you'll accept here in Benton County? Last minute, kneejerk panic attack responses to issues? A total lack of compassion, if not for the homeless, for all the other groups involved in this effort whose work may now have been completely torpedoed?
And, speaking of empathy, this is also a revealing follow-up to the recent revelations about the troubles in Benton County's mental health department, with allegations of abusive managers and bigoted behavior being widespread.
Leadership means standing up and doing what is right, even when it is difficult. It also means having the courage to stand up and say when you're wrong, and working to make amends. But, under its current leadership, Benton County seems more focused on deflecting blame, assigning it to others, and shirking their responsibilities.
We can do better than this, and if I am elected, I will work tirelessly to see that we absolutely do better than this. I will foster cooperation, not confrontation. I will not abide unethical or abusive behavior. And I will recognize that, buyer's remorse or not, a deal is a deal, and we must uphold our end of it - especially when it comes to dealing with life or death social issues.
Now, let's just take the specific issue (dealing with homelessness) out of this discussion, and look at how our current County Commissioners have behaved in all this. They've made a deal, committed funds, then reneged on it, throwing plans that affect the whole county and involve many groups therein into turmoil. They did so at the last minute.
They also did so as a follow up to Commissioner Anne Schuster's telling inflammatory lies via Facebook. Do I need to say that that sort of behavior is never helpful, and, in this case, seems especially insensitive? We've already got a lunatic in chief who is addicted to tweeting out mistruths - do we really want to emulate that sort of behavior locally?
Taken as a whole, is this the kind of informed, compassionate and professional leadership you'll accept here in Benton County? Last minute, kneejerk panic attack responses to issues? A total lack of compassion, if not for the homeless, for all the other groups involved in this effort whose work may now have been completely torpedoed?
And, speaking of empathy, this is also a revealing follow-up to the recent revelations about the troubles in Benton County's mental health department, with allegations of abusive managers and bigoted behavior being widespread.
Leadership means standing up and doing what is right, even when it is difficult. It also means having the courage to stand up and say when you're wrong, and working to make amends. But, under its current leadership, Benton County seems more focused on deflecting blame, assigning it to others, and shirking their responsibilities.
We can do better than this, and if I am elected, I will work tirelessly to see that we absolutely do better than this. I will foster cooperation, not confrontation. I will not abide unethical or abusive behavior. And I will recognize that, buyer's remorse or not, a deal is a deal, and we must uphold our end of it - especially when it comes to dealing with life or death social issues.
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