WATCHDOG ENDORSEMENTS

The time has come to announce my endorsements for the May 18, 2010 primary election. I will start today by making a couple of those endorsements and they probably will not be a surprise to you.

First, the race for the county judge/executive office, this is a very easy call for me to make. After having listened to the candidates discuss issues on three different occasions, after reviewing David Voegele’s background, and after reviewing the background of Paula Gish, I recommend that the voters of Oldham County vote for David Voegele.

David Voegele has considerable management experience, has a college degree, and has an excellent background in communications. Meanwhile, Paula Gish has only part-time experience as a secretary in the business world. True, she has been involved in parent teacher associations as has Voegele and she has been a magistrate as has Voegele. The only government experience that she has that David Voegele does not have is that of having been a Deputy County Judge/Executive for three years. And, in that position she was determined to be unqualified to supervise the payroll clerk. The Kentucky State Auditor made this determination during an audit of Oldham County. Simply put, if she is not qualified to supervise a payroll clerk, she certainly is not qualified to run Oldham County. She has sent out several mailings and obviously has more money to spend than David Voegele. However, she has yet to state any goals and has not stated how she would move the county forward. Again, there’s only one real choice in this race and that is David Voegele.

In the race for magistrate of the fifth district the people have a choice between a true Republican and a Democrat who claims she is Republican. The incumbent, Iva Davis, claimed in a recent newspaper article that she switched to the Republican Party in order to vote for Tim Wakefield when he was running for sheriff. However, I believe she told people attending a Republican Party meeting that she switched to the Republican Party because she knew she could not be elected as a Democrat. But it doesn’t matter which of the reasons she changed her party affiliation for, or for that matter if she changed for both reasons. Neither reason is a good reason to change parties. One should only change his/her political affiliation because he/she has had a change of political philosophy or a party that he/she is a member of no longer represents his or her views.

Additionally, I have watched Iva Davis for the past three years on fiscal court. During that entire time I can only recall her making one meaningful contribution to the court. That occurred when she vigorously questioned Joe Schoenbachler, who was the leader of the Oldham County Economic Development agency at that time, regarding efforts that the agency had made to bring new businesses to Oldham County. Other than that I would challenge anyone to show me something she has contributed to the court. Additionally, Iva Davis has voted in lockstep with Judge Murner on every issue that I can remember to include all tax and fee increases. She is a very nice lady and pleasant to talk with but she is not the right person to represent the people of the fifth magisterial district. Therefore, I endorse JD Sparks for magistrate for the fifth district. He is a young person who has fresh ideas, is not afraid to raise issues, and will bring a change to Fiscal Court.

Tomorrow I will have another countywide race endorsement and an endorsement for one magisterial district.