BY AARON WALKER
White Rock

There are three major attributes I am looking for when deciding who to vote for in our local elections this year: transparency, open communication, and reason. I’ve boiled it down to these three factors because they are what the county is in dire need of right now. I want a representative that isn’t smoke and mirrors, is willing to have a dialog, and questions what is put in front of them. These three attributes are why I feel I must vote for David Reagor over Denise Derkacs, even as a Democrat.

First, let’s talk about transparency. This is my #1 big deal personally. I despise intentional obfuscation of the truth, or even muddying of the waters. This is the firstmajor hurdle that Council Chair Derkacs fails to overcome. She is as transparent as a lead brick Items get buried on the consent agenda with huge dollar amounts, petitions are accepted and then nothing is done. Councilor Reagor on the other hand is always willing to answer questions I have when Iemail, strives for the county to be more open about how they are dealing with entities, and is willing to talk to constituents (even those that disagree with him ~85% of the time like me).

Open communication should be something easily attained, right? Well, aside from the “we got your email” response I get when I email any sort of concern/question to council, what sort of substance have I gotten from Chair Derkacs? She has talked down to me when I’ve said something that doesn’t correlate with her agenda, and I get nothing else in response (I half expect a comment in reply to this to further “correct” me or talk down to me). To quote one of my favorite wrestlers Maxwell Jacob Friedman (yes, I like wrestling but that’s a discussion for another time), her attitude is “I’m better than you and you know it”. To me, that is grossly unacceptable for a representative. Councilor Reagor on the other hand, has always been willing to talk to me and listen to my position regardless of his stance on the issue. He is willing to talk about his major issues and grievances openly, while Denise is all smoke and mirrors while sitting behind closed doors.

Reason is the final attribute I look for. It sounds like a catch-all, but there’s a method to my madness here. Chair Derkacs toes the county line. Most of the time Chair Derkacs accepts what the county staff tell her at face value without question. Why? Shouldn’t we have a representative that questions actions, and asks “why?” Councilor Reagor does that. The Sirphey issue comes to mind immediately. When the case was remanded back to council for the opportunity to review what was done prior, Chair Derkacs bought the county’s sales pitch hook, line, and sinker. Councilor Reagor did not. That questioning attitude possibly could’ve saved the county a truckload of moneyand potentially repaired SOME poor optics with the public. We desperately need a councilor that asks probing questions and is willing to say “NO” to the staff at times.

I’m not here to say I agree with everything Councilor Reagor does, because I certainly don’t. I don’t agree with a fair amount of his stances. I think he gets it wrong on important topics like climate change and vaccinations. However, there are bigger factors like I mentioned above. With that said, I am going to cast my vote for transparency, communication, and reason (questioning attitude). I am a registered Democrat, and 99% of my votes cast in this election will be for Democrats. I cannot vote for obfuscation, smoke and mirrors, and blind acceptance. I’m voting for Councilor Reagor for County Council, and I feel you should too.