COUNTY COMMISSIONER

Presentation by Carolyn McLaughlin to the Fayette County Republican Central Committee for the selection of a new county commissioner.
January 13, 2011.

Times are changing. The people of Fayette County have joined the rising tide of Americans demanding all public bodies become fiscally responsible and understand the limits of government. The time of bloated, government expansion is over. Irish statesman Edmund Burke said that all government is “founded on compromise and barter.” I say, “it depends.” There is much trivia in government that can be compromised and bartered, such as what material is to used to pave a road, but there can be no compromise or barter with the rights and freedoms of Fayette Countians. The job of a County Commissoner should be founded on principles for which no apologies are necessary. You may assume that if selected, I will be the invisible hand of people like me who believe in limited oversight of their daily lives, who believe that a budget should not only be balanced but also not filled with wasteful spending, and who believe in fair and unbiased dealings with individuals and businesses. As a retiree, former business owner, and taxpayer, I am well aware of the challenges of County Commissioner and I have heard what the people say they want from local government. As a representative of the people, I close by paraphrasing an American patriot, Nathan Hale: “I do not regret that I have but one qualification to give to my county - common sense.”

Thank you.