All politics is local. How many times have you heard that old saw? It's probably time we retired it, as even a cursory review of recent history clearly shows that, at best, politics is now a battle between those who would like to keep their campaigns local, and those who defer to the national stage. In some parts of America, local issues are entirely irrelevant.
In a desperate attempt to swim against that current. I’ve invited all five candidates for the three Polk County Board of Commissioner seats up for grabs this fall to sit down for an interview to explore just much national issues have taken over and give them a chance to prove they haven't. Only two have accepted so far, but this episode was recorded more than a month before the election, so there’s still time for the holdouts to change their minds. I hope this talk with Ray Gasperson helps nudge the GOP candidates (Tommy Melton, Paul Beiler, and David Moore) in that direction.
Although Ray’s not an incumbent, he has 12 years of experience on the board, more than any of the current members. He was first elected way back in 2008, as part of a Democrat wave, but the the 2020 election left him without a seat. No candidate for commissioner that year got more than 27 per cent of the vote, but Ray only managed 22 per cent, and that wasn’t enough to keep him on the board. He wants back in, and he’s one of just two Democratic Party candidates on the ballot. Andy Millard is the other.
I sat down earlier this month with Ray in a house that his son is building next door to the farm Ray has been running in Green Creek for 20 years.
Further reading
The Ray Gasperson campaign website
https://ray4polk.com
All politics is (not) local:
https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/pn_wp/25/
