To the editor:
I have this idea about how our government should work. Because we are a citizen-run government, we choose who we want to be in charge. For me, it is like a family. When there is a problem to work on in our family, we look to the person with the best skills for that problem. When no one in the family has that particular skill, we go to the person we know will carefully check things out and learn what the best way to handle the problem is.
With the local elections coming on Nov. 6, I want to talk about using that idea to help us choose who should run our county offices.
Brenda Woods
When I first came to Brown County, I went to the clerk’s office and met Brenda Woods, our current clerk. I wanted some information about the county. I knew this was public information, but in another county, I was forced to sue for the information, and a court ultimately forced that county to give it to me. Brenda followed the law and turned over the information immediately with no questions asked. With a citizen-run government, it only works when it is transparent. Brenda knows this and does not hide information from the people.
While I was talking to Brenda, we discussed the new requirement that lawyers must use electronic filing to reduce the cost of paper records. She quickly impressed me with her command of the new project and all her office was doing to implement it. Later, I had election issues to discuss with Brenda. She gave me confidence that she knows all of the complexities of the election code, and that our local elections are being run fairly.
Beth Mulry
When I was researching what options Brown County has to fund drug treatment programs to solve our tragic opioid problem, I spoke to Beth Mulry, the county auditor. I knew a little about local taxes and funding from my time in office in Indianapolis. Beth quickly showed me that she knows her way around all of the complex laws affecting local governments. She corrected me about a property tax limitation that I had forgotten about.
Beth also knows that a citizen-run government runs best by allowing the people full access to information. When I asked for past budget and spending information, she quickly emailed me the reports I needed.
I later learned that Beth’s main goal for her first term was to make Brown County compliant with state law. To do that, she looked at the past audits from the State Board of Accounts and worked on all of the problems identified in those reports. Through Beth’s hard work, leadership, and cooperation with other local government offices, the most recent audit came back with no problems.
Kris Kritzer
As many of you know, Kris Kritzer won against me in the primary election in our bid to become the next Brown Circuit Court judge. I have watched Kris campaign, and he immediately shows his energy to attack difficult problems such as our opioid crisis. Knowing that this is a difficult problem that evaded an easy solution, Kris has learned as much as he can about the best practices for attacking drug abuse. He has gone to several days’ worth of seminars and training, and is an active member of the Brown County Drug Free Task Force. When you listen to him speak about this problem and his ideas to solve it, you are quickly impressed with his passion to help, and his knowledge of the challenges and effective solutions. Kris is that guy in the family that we know will learn as much as he can about a problem before he works on it.
I believe Brenda, Beth and Kris are the people we can count on to do a good job. I hope you will vote for them.
Greg Bowes
I think I am the same kind of person, the one we can count on to do the kind of job we would do ourselves if we had all the skill and knowledge to do it right. I have served in local government for eight years. As Marion County assessor, I worked through a difficult reassessment and implemented a new computer system. We consolidated the assessment of nine townships into one county office, all while saving taxpayers more than $2 million per year.
I am asking you to let me serve the community as your county prosecutor. With 33 years’ experience as a lawyer, most of which was in criminal law, I have the skills to do the job well. Like Kris, I want to do my best to craft an effective solution to the tragic damage drugs are causing to our families.
If you want to learn more about me, please go to GregBowes.com. You can contact me at [email protected] or at 812-340-0328.
In any event, please vote. We do not have a citizen-run government if only a few of us participate.
Greg Bowes, Nashville
