Clay County voters will be in an extraordinary political position this year, with a power to change their local government they haven't seen since choosing to adopt their home rule County Charter, thanks to the decision by David Owens to not seek re-election after 12 years as superintendent of our local public schools.

There will be the opportunity to select four people to the County Commission, which will be a majority on the new seven-member body that oversees county government. Clay County folks will be able to select someone new to serve as Superintendent of Schools, along with at least two of the five seats on the School Board. There will also be an election for Sheriff, Tax Collector and County Clerk of the Court.

If that's not enough to get local people to the polls, there will probably be the Hometown Democracy Amendment, which is an opportunity for regular folks to grab some decision-making power for themselves instead of leaving decisions on growth continue to be left up to developers, lawyers, lobbyists and a County Commission that can't or won't say no.

The set of circumstances arriving together in one election year have tipped the scale of power from those who have been dominating local politics to those who have suffered under the domination.

Don't like a government that won't control growth? Vote for Hometown Democracy and do it yourself.

Want a County Commission with representatives who can't hear you because of all the hammering on the new roofs being built? Elect a majority to the BCC who will remember that regular people are also paying part of the cost for all those new homes.

Tired of having your kid's teacher spend all their time filling out paperwork to document preparations for the next standardized test instead of teaching your kid to read at their current grade level? Elect some School Board members with the common sense to see how wasteful that is.

Want someone in charge of schools who believes teachers who molest students should be fired instead of recommended for a teaching job somewhere else? Then elect a superintendent with the priorities you have.

This year is filled with the potential for regular Clay County folks to say we're not happy with the way our government is being run. That it's time to change more than just the faces of our elected officials. It's time to change some ideas and perspectives, and bring our local government back to common sense.

Michael S. Mann

michaelsmann@comcast.net [1]