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Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
EDITORIAL: The politics of public safety
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Letters to the Editor
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Date: July 07, 2011 12:52PM
EDITORIAL: The politics of public safety
Thursday, Jul. 7 by Staff
http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/the_politics_of_public_safety123/
The campaign for Loudoun County Sheriff has been the race to watch this year for the county’s blogosphere and area political junkies. It began with a field of four vying for the Republican nomination and the chance to compete against a long-term incumbent. The fact that the current Sheriff is a former party Republican who was later re-elected as an independent just adds to the drama.
As the four candidates for the Republican nomination dropped to two, the race began to resemble “American Idol” with a different contestant being voted off every week and the GOP’s heavyweight bloggers making quote-worthy remarks from the judging panel.
I will leave it up to you as to which political blogger is Steven Tyler and which is Jennifer Lopez.
If your sensibilities are a bit shocked to have the race for Sheriff compared to a singing contest show, let me ask: Would the candidates’ ability to sing be any more relevant to law enforcement than their political affiliation?
Who actually cares if the Sheriff is a Democrat or a Republican? For that matter, should the Commonwealth’s Attorney have a letter at the end of his or her name?
We say no, because politics should always place second behind public safety.
Perhaps a better argument could be made for the other positions required by the Virginia Constitution – Commissioner of the Revenue, Treasurer and Clerk of the Circuit Court. It’s true that these positions impact the county’s ability to raise and manage its funds.
However, all of the constitutional officers have been elected to a full-time position, where they are required to run a department within the constraints of fairly rigid regulations and administrative requirements.
While the Treasurer may have thoughts about taxes, it does not affect his responsibility to collect them. The Clerk of the Circuit Court’s thoughts on universal health care will have very minimal impact on the Clerk’s Office.
Likewise, the Sheriff and the Commonwealth’s Attorney are elected to enforce the laws of Loudoun County – whether the target is Democrat or Republican. The laws govern everyone equally.
There will always be those who believe that certain people receive preferential treatment because their political party matched that of the elected official. And this public perception is simply a distraction.
The devil’s advocate position is … well, what does it hurt? We put forth that when Loudoun voters (and the voters of all Virginia counties) enter the voting booth, their decision should be determined by who would do the best job instead of the letters at the end of the candidate’s name.
Let the constitutional officers join the members of the School Board and the various town councils as positions where party affiliation is taken out of the equation at the voting booth.
There are politics, and then there’s public safety. Maybe it’s time to ensure that they remain separate.
Thursday, Jul. 7 by Staff
http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/the_politics_of_public_safety123/
The campaign for Loudoun County Sheriff has been the race to watch this year for the county’s blogosphere and area political junkies. It began with a field of four vying for the Republican nomination and the chance to compete against a long-term incumbent. The fact that the current Sheriff is a former party Republican who was later re-elected as an independent just adds to the drama.
As the four candidates for the Republican nomination dropped to two, the race began to resemble “American Idol” with a different contestant being voted off every week and the GOP’s heavyweight bloggers making quote-worthy remarks from the judging panel.
I will leave it up to you as to which political blogger is Steven Tyler and which is Jennifer Lopez.
If your sensibilities are a bit shocked to have the race for Sheriff compared to a singing contest show, let me ask: Would the candidates’ ability to sing be any more relevant to law enforcement than their political affiliation?
Who actually cares if the Sheriff is a Democrat or a Republican? For that matter, should the Commonwealth’s Attorney have a letter at the end of his or her name?
We say no, because politics should always place second behind public safety.
Perhaps a better argument could be made for the other positions required by the Virginia Constitution – Commissioner of the Revenue, Treasurer and Clerk of the Circuit Court. It’s true that these positions impact the county’s ability to raise and manage its funds.
However, all of the constitutional officers have been elected to a full-time position, where they are required to run a department within the constraints of fairly rigid regulations and administrative requirements.
While the Treasurer may have thoughts about taxes, it does not affect his responsibility to collect them. The Clerk of the Circuit Court’s thoughts on universal health care will have very minimal impact on the Clerk’s Office.
Likewise, the Sheriff and the Commonwealth’s Attorney are elected to enforce the laws of Loudoun County – whether the target is Democrat or Republican. The laws govern everyone equally.
There will always be those who believe that certain people receive preferential treatment because their political party matched that of the elected official. And this public perception is simply a distraction.
The devil’s advocate position is … well, what does it hurt? We put forth that when Loudoun voters (and the voters of all Virginia counties) enter the voting booth, their decision should be determined by who would do the best job instead of the letters at the end of the candidate’s name.
Let the constitutional officers join the members of the School Board and the various town councils as positions where party affiliation is taken out of the equation at the voting booth.
There are politics, and then there’s public safety. Maybe it’s time to ensure that they remain separate.