Collaboration and business were hot subjects at the League of Women Voters forum for Monroe County commissioner candidates.
Candidates for District 2 were Republican Nelson Shaffer and Democratic incumbent Julie Thomas. For District 3, they were Republican Paul White Sr. and Democrat Amanda Clerkin Barge.
During opening comments, the candidates summed up their platforms.
“I want to expand the tax base,” Shaffer said. “More companies, more businesses, more people working, rather than expanding the tax rate.”
“I will do all that I can to make sure government is approachable,” Thomas said. She also talked about increasing environmental sustainability in the county.
“I promise to protect the environment, improve our health and safety, and make sure our government is effective, accountable and responsive to the needs of residents and also the county staff who are the backbone of our government,” Barge said.
“Government that is better responsive to the needs of the citizens, government that is more business-friendly, and operate a government that deals with abuses of power, whether it be elected officials or employees,” White Sr. said, explaining his goals.
The first question asked the candidates what they hoped to improve in their districts.
“I want to improve the integrity and competence of handling money,” Shaffer answered. One way to do so would be to make incompatible computer systems compatible.
Thomas said she wants to take the county’s Citizens Academy, which explains how local government works, and make videos to help make the process more transparent. She also mentioned that the county is already working on a stormwater project that, she said, will benefit a lot of residents.
“I would like to see us evaluate a corrections center to see if that will ease some of the tension on the jail,” said Barge. She also wanted to see local government interact with children more and make better use of social media.
White Sr. stated that Bloomington and the county have a “homeless problem.” He would like to implement a public works program to help those who want to work get jobs.
“We can get some people some dignity back into their lives,” he said.
Next, they were asked about diversifying the local economy.
“Folks are looking to start businesses with smaller footprints,” Thomas said.
To accommodate them, she suggested subdividing several large industrial buildings in the county so they could house multiple smaller businesses. She also suggested expansion of internships to better train tomorrow’s workforce.
“It’s great to give someone training, but unless they have support in getting a job, in keeping a job, in job coaching, they may not be able to keep that job,” Barge answered.
She would bring the skills she developed as a social worker to the table.
White Sr. and Shaffer both suggested relaxing regulations on business, which they said discourage entrepreneurship in the county and business relocation to the county.
Shaffer added that he would explore more internship possibilities and promote tourism, as well.
Next, the candidates were asked about working with elected officials while holding themselves accountable to the public.
“I’m used to kind of being a stranger in a place,” Barge said. “I’m used to being with people from different professions, so I think I’ll be really good at building bridges.”
“Dealing with people is tough at times because people are people,” White Sr. said.
He would not dismiss anyone without due process and challenged the other candidates to make the same commitment.
Shaffer recalled past work experience dealing with “ego-driven smart people.”
“You need to develop a sense of common cause,” he said.
“It’s different than a mayor who controls his departments,” Thomas said. “We control only a few departments.”
She said her skills as a mediator have helped her every day as commissioner, and developing a rapport with other elected officials is important.
Another question asked if the candidates would be in support of an affordable detox center.
White Sr. said he didn’t know. It could be a good use for the Bloomington Hospital building, but the government would need to ask the citizenry if they wanted an affordable detox center.
Shaffer would want to address incarceration and recidivism before adding tax burden to county residents in support of a detox center. He said he wanted numbers, data.
Thomas stressed that addiction was not an individual issue. It affected families and community members.
“We can’t look at the problem and say it’s one person with a problem,” she said.
She encouraged collaboration with other governmental bodies to come up with a solution.
“We know prevention works,” Barge said. “We have experts in this community. I’ve called for an addictions task force. If elected, I would absolutely do that.”
The candidates were asked about jobs for those who have trouble getting them, for high school dropouts.
“I would like to see a lot more vocational training,” Thomas said.
She noted that the state prohibits a “living wage,” which would be about $10.15 per hour in Monroe County.
“We need a diverse range of jobs,” Barge said.
She suggested collaborating with entities that specialized in job training and location like LifeDesigns.
White Sr. and Shaffer again said that restrictions on businesses needed to be lessened to encourage them to come to the county and to help them thrive and hire more people.
All four candidates were in favor of increasing collaboration between the county and city.
Barge referred to the Monroe County Energy Challenge as an example of successful collaboration between the two entities. She said an area of opportunity for collaboration is the county’s urbanized area plan.
White Sr. suggested the county and city could be more opportunistic in getting work done when one or the other was working on a project near the other’s planned work.
“Let’s help each other,” he said. “It’s for the people, not for the entities providing that particular service.”
Shaffer suggested making joint purchases and sharing specialized equipment if possible.
Thomas noted that the city and county already collaborate on animal control, dispatch, solid waste management and planning. She said aligning the verbiage and other signals on county and city documents is one simple thing the two could do.
Every candidate said they wanted to fill county board and commission vacancies faster and with diverse voices.
The candidates summarized their goals and platforms to conclude the forum.
The next League of Women Voters forum will be held Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. in the Monroe County Public Library auditorium. It will feature the at-large candidates for Monroe County Council.
Originally published in Ellettsville Journal, 2016. Republished here for archival and portfolio purposes.