It has been brought to my attention that there is a deliberate campaign of disinformation being circulated that Charter Government would cost the citizens of Levy County more money than the present form of county management. This is an out and out deliberate misstatement of the true facts of Charter Government. Since a Levy County Charter will be written by the citizens themselves, it will compel County Commissioners to live within the framework of a constitutional budget, and they will be subject to immediate recall if they violate the written Charter. County Commissioners will be forced to submit any tax increases for voter approval before they can be implemented and, what is more, the citizens will be in control of Commissioners salaries. No wonder the powers that be in Bronson are fighting against Charter for all they are worth. I would ask, `if the citizens of this county can dictate the articles of charter, vote on any tax increases, and restrict the monies spent on County government, how can it cost more under a Charter written by the people?` Since every `Charter` is designed to meet the peculiar needs of the individual County, a `Charter` in Levy County will be implemented by the people, to serve their own particular needs. It is childish to compare the budgetary needs of Levy County with those of any other County, or to suggest that a `one size fits all,` is a valid comparison. Everything involved in a County Charter must be voted on by the citizens of that particular county, in a general, or special election, before it can be instituted. The articles of Charter adopted by the citizens of Levy County will dictate precisely how government must operate, and all items must be voted on by the citizens before they are incorporated into the Charter. Nothing is done without citizen input, nothing is done without the vote of the people, NOTHING. Now compare all of this with the bureaucratic despotism and power mongers we presently have in Bronson. If you want `real` change in Bronson it can only come from giving the people the opportunity to control their own government. `Charter` government does just that. Since John King and I are running on a platform which presents the citizens with the opportunity for Charter government, we hereby challenge all Levy County Commission Candidates to a public debate on the issues of `Charter` government. This will be an open debate where the citizens can ask questions directly of the candidates. This will not be a sanitized discussion designed to shield candidates from difficult questions concerning their past performance nor their future intentions. This will be in a true head to head candidate debate format, where the citizens have control of the questions from the floor. Of course, John King and I are prepared to pay the expense of the debate. We trust that the other candidates will seize this opportunity to allow the voters in Levy County to examine and challenge their political views in an open forum. This is an open challenge. Noel K. Desmond
Candidate for Levy County Commission, District 4 John E. King
Candidate for Levy County Commission, District 2 | 