2011 Boone County Candidates

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Lebanon Clerk Treasurer

The Lebanon Clerk Treasurer primary election this Tuesday, May 3, is important. The winner of Tuesday's election will undoubtedly win the November 8 general election and become our Clerk Treasurer.

The office of Clerk Treasurer in Lebanon is particularly important because of how our Redevelopment Commission operates. The hoped-for Taxpayer Friendly redevelopment commission oversight legislation unfortunately failed to pass the General Assembly this session. What this means is that the Lebanon RDC will continue to operate with very limited oversight by our Lebanon City Council. The Lebanon RDC, which is composed of five residents appointed solely by the Mayor, can continue to spend its accumulated excess funds (instead of terminating the RDC so we would all have lower property taxes) pretty much however it wants to without the approval of our City Council. The bottom line is that the Lebanon RDC can continue to be a poorly regulated "piggy bank" for the developer-dominated dreams and schemes of the Lebanon Mayor.

The ONLY reliable source of timely information about the Lebanon RDC finances is the Clerk Treasurer's office. The only way for concerned citizens to keep track of the shadowy RDC operation is through public records requests submitted to the Clerk Treasurer. We must have a Clerk Treasurer who will respect both the spirit and letter of our public records access laws.

One Clerk Treasurer primary candidate is running as part of a "team" with the current Mayor. Indeed, the Lebanon Reporter has written that the current Mayor has provided at least 62% of her campaign funds. We need an independent-minded Clerk Treasurer who views herself as the city's fiscal "watchdog" first and a beholden team member second.

After meeting with her, I am convinced that Deanna Willhoite is a tough-minded public servant who puts her concept of what constitutes good public policy before going-along-to-get-along. While Deanna has an admirable record of working with others to make Boone County government better, she does not present herself as a teammate first and foremost. I have no doubt that Deanna will respond forthrightly to public records requests as Clerk Treasurer. I also feel sure she will freely provide the "unvarnished" truth about city spending and its consequences.

Deanna is in her seventh year as Boone County Treasurer. She inherited a bit of a "mess" from her predecessor. Every one of Deanna's audits by the Indiana State Board of Accounts has been deficiency-free.

Please seriously consider Deanna Willhoite's qualifications when you vote on May 3 because she will be a capable, independent, and responsive public servant.

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This page was last updated on 02/25/12.