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Show THE ZEPHYROCTOBER 1992 PAGE 20 re-organiz- ing Ray Tibbetts & Norm Shrewsbury the government discuss the of optional form government by KenDavey be able to vote for them. I relate this to Wayne Owens. He had more influence on what because he's in the Democratic happened in Grand County than any of our other representatives But we didn't have the right acres. wilderness how on many camp. He was setting the dialogue same I the can see to vote for him or against him. thing happening here on a local level Under and that is wrong We should this change, you can vote for one in your district and two vote for every one of them, we should demand that right. Grand County voters will have an opportunity this November to vote for or against a change in the form of county government, replacing the existing commissioner system with a council-typ- e organization. In separate interviews, the Zephyr asked a leading proponent and a leading opponent a list Of questions about specific features of the proposal. The answers have been edited for clarity and length. Norm Shrewsbury is a member of Citizens for Better Government, the group that organized the petition campaign to place the change of government plan on the ballot. Ray Tibbetts is a former county commissioner who served 6 years during the 1980s. at-lar- WHY ELECT BY DISTRICT? NORM: The district, again, we thought was more representative. Most of our plan came from a public opinion poll, and having it by district was highly favored. There are different needs in Moab city proper than in Castle Valley or Elgin. And no matter how much you support them getting things, you don't know what their needs are. We thought each district would have the potential of electing a representative who would have their voice. We also thought there was there are very competent people spread out there in the county. This some value to would help get the best people for the job. THERE ARE NOW 3 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. THE NEW PLAN WOULD ELECT 7 MEMBERS OF A COUNTY COUNCIL IN THEIR PLACE. WHY IS 7 BETTER THAN 3? NORM: More representation. Seven voices, 7 people discussing an issue, more imput. And obviously when you vote, you have to convince more than one person for it to pass. So there has to be some common acceptance of a proposal. One person has always been the most "efficient form of government, it's called dictatorship. Very little waste, you get done exactly what you want done The opposite of that is representation. When you have 7 people, there's more representation, and it takes longer to do something. We thought that the tradeoff of the at-lar- UNDER THE CURRENT SYSTEM, COMMISSIONERS CAN SERVE AN UNLIMITED NUMBER OF TERMS. UNDER THE PROPOSED CHANGE, COUNCIL MEMBERS CAN SERVE TWO CONSECUTIVE TERMS, BUT THEN MUST STEP DOWN FOR AT LEAST 2 YEARS. quality of better representation and more voices was something that was valued higher than sheer efficiency. We looked at the amount of work the commission does here. There are more than 20 committees they sit on. For each member that's 7 meetings you have to go to, plus submeetings, it just seemed overwhelming. With the amount of work, seven was the number if took to get the job done. WHY IS 3 BETTER THAN 77 RAY: Three has been a good system, it's worked for a lot of years here. It's adequate. We have about 6,000 people in Grand County, we don't need more than 3 for good representation. Three people can make a decision. They are comprised of people from all over the county already. The more you add, the harder it is to make a decision. The further away from the people they get and they don't have to make a decision. Once you get past 3, it's almost impossible to get a decision, they either table it or they "think about it." They're the greatest buckpassers you'll ever see, after it goes past that goal-orient- UNDER THE CURRENT SYSTEM, THE 3 COMMISSIONERS ARE ELECTED OR BY ALL THE COUNTY VOTERS. THE CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT PLAN CALLS FOR 2 MEMBERS, AND 5 CHOSEN BY DISTRICT VOTE. E, AT-LAR- WHAT'S WRONG WITH DISTRICT ELECTIONS? RAY: I don't think districts are going to work, because a district denies me the right to vote for everybody who is running the county government. Anybody running for office, everyone should WHY HAVE TERM LIMITATION? NORM: It takes a certain amount of time to get up to speed and running, and a certain amount of time to get valuable programs passed. But in many organizations I've worked in, once they and getting specific projects done, they go to having to justify their go from being longevity, they look for projects, they make work. I think the government is a longterm project, it should be managed as if it will be around 100 years or more. But 1 don't think we need individuals trying to guarantee their power over 100 years. That is a negative effect It gpes from a good person wanting to accomplish something, to having to pay off friends, tradeoffs, things that aren't really conducive to citizens at large, but more to special interests. There are so many ways in serving in a public capacity that they can continue to do public service but not necessarily on the commission. I respect anyone who has run for public office, the amount of time you put in, for whatever pay, is generally not accurately compensated. And that's where problems come in. After a few years with people working that hard, thats when they get the idea, "boy, this just isn't worth it if I don't up the stakes, give myself a raise. WHAT'S WRONG WITH TERM LIMITATION? RAY: I've never seen it be a problem in Moab. We've had some commissioners who've been in for quite a few years. They drop out and they come in again. I'm talking about people like Winfred Buntz, who'd run and be very popular, and then after a couple of terms they'd vote him out because he'd kind of lose contact with the public We all have a tendency to do that Then, he'd run the next and be very popular again. It takes the people to say, come back to reality and represent us. There' s nothing wrong with staying in office in a small place like Grand County, because they ed d, , HONEST OZZIE'S CAFE' and DESERT OASIS and BAKERY and DELI and GALLERY and CATERING try our new expanded menu , now including a selection of fine beers and wines, GARDEN SEATING and NOW UVE MUSIC EVERY NIGHT ; "exotic species welcome |