Published: May 03, 2008 08:04 pm      

GOP county council candidates address issues

EDITOR’S NOTE: Eight Republicans are seeking their party’s nomination to run for three at-large seats on the Cass County Council. Incumbents Ralph Anderson and Chod Gibson will join Pat Badt, Christopher Dixson, Ryan Elson, Jeff LeDonne, Cameron Mills and Jim Parsons on the GOP primary ballot. The three top vote-getters will take on Democrats Gordon Southern and Julian Pugh in November. The Pharos-Tribune invited all eight Republicans to submit essays concerning their candidacies, and all but Elson responded. The responses follow.



Ralph Anderson

Issues for any county council race are providing the best county government for the least amount of dollars. Attract new investments and jobs while protecting existing employment. A county in Indiana wants to be number 1 in service and number 92 in cost of service. The county council makes the budget.

What have we accomplished in the past 3 years that I have been on the council? My first year on the council we had no money carried over in the general fund. This past year we had a $1.2 million carryover which means we held the line on additional spending. The $1.2 million surplus means that we need less tax revenue this year to balance the county budget. The council did this while helping to increase investments in Cass County by over $100 million. We adopted an aggressive 5-year plan to fix and upgrade our county highways, and brought our county employees’ salaries up to parity with average for this area.

The council’s challenge for 2009 is the job description has changed. With House Enrolled Act 1001 (property tax reform), the county is not in a bad position. However, the other taxing subdivisions are (Logansport, Galveston, Walton, Royal Center, all school corporations, libraries, etc.). They will be coming to your county council to increase the local option income tax.

Your council member must have a working knowledge of government, education, business, agriculture, youth issues, and senior issues. I believe that my education, family and life experiences make me an excellent candidate.



Patricia (Pat) Badt

In this campaign there are two main issues I want to address.

First, the present Cass County Council has and is doing a great job, and by no means would I challenge their decisions. However, I see that the tax dollars will not go as far due to funds being cut from the state, 15 to 18 percent less than last year. This now will be a new ballgame as the council will be faced with how to provide the same services to the public without increasing taxes to cover the deficit. It is going to be a major balancing act which affects the 2008 budget let alone carried into 2009.

Second, educating the public as to what the council’s actual function is and how they work as a team with the county commissioners. The county Council is responsible for the county government only and not the commissioners’ or the city council decisions.

The position of the council is to review the previous year’s budget, look where costs can be cut and suggest other ways to still get the job done and make recommendations to the commissioners in an attempt to help make their job easier so that when the public has inquiries about the county’s activities and how plans are created to balance the budget, they have the answers from a team’s prospective.

I come to the council with experience wearing many hats as a registered nurse, substitute teacher, real estate broker, retail clerking, child advocate for Superior Court, mental health division, public health department and banking. Also, I have served on several boards: children’s home, Business & Professional Women’s Association, Domestic Violence Task Force and currently executive director of the Sexual Abuse Victims Empowerment organization. I know the ins and outs of a productive group contributing fresh ideas and energy to accomplish any challenge.

I am interested in seeing our county’s continued growth and development along with being prosperous, if at all possible.

I look forward to representing the voters/residents in meeting their needs where services are concerned from our Cass County government. I believe there is always room for new ideas and new blood on the council team which then stimulates thinking “outside the box and exploring new ways to cover the pitfalls of balancing the financial scales.



Chris Dixson

I would first like to thank everyone for taking the time to learn the views of all the candidates involved in this election. To me, the more people we get involved in the political process will only make Cass County all the better for dads like me to raise our families.

The Pharos-Tribune has asked me to answer two questions for this essay. The questions are what issues I see in this campaign and why the voters should elect me. To me both questions are the same. Voters should elect the person who sees the issues in the same way that they do.

I hope my background and the way my parents raised me earns me a lot of votes. Voters should know I am the son of Terry and Tammy Dixson. I have two older brothers Bryan and Chad. My father just retired from the Logansport Police Department after 25 years of service to this community. As I grew up, I watched my dad help with numerous political campaigns. I would see him take time out of his life to hand paint signs for people that he thought would make Cass County a better place. Some of those people won, and it always seemed that as soon as they won they forgot about the people who helped them win. The people that painted signs or stood outside for 12 hours at poll places. I learned a lot through my father’s disappointments.

If I am elected, I will be a voice for my community and not a voice for myself. I have no long-term goals of running for higher office nor am I running to seek the benefits offered with this position. I am running because I want my daughter to have a safe place to grow up. To make Cass County a safe place for all citizens of this county to have a career or raise a family.

I have firsthand experience in knowing that life doesn’t always work out the way you plan. I know that every day we wake up it gets harder and harder to make ends meet. In today’s world, with the cost of everything from insurance, gas, taxes and groceries constantly on the rise, we need to make sure that our county is planning ahead to make sure that the needs of the citizens are taken care of.



Chod Gibson

There are several key issues facing Cass County in the coming years. The most challenging issue is the decrease in monies the county receives in property taxes as a result of recent changes made by the Indiana Legislature. I believe we can meet that challenge by exercising good judgment and restraint in providing county services, exploring other taxation alternatives, requesting more from our county employees and carefully monitoring the employment needs of the county.

A second challenge is Combined 911 Emergency Service. I believe Cass County and Logansport should continue to work together in providing this service to all residents, thus avoiding duplication of services and cost, and at the same time, making response times for emergencies quicker and better.

A third challenge is the inadequate space in the current County Building. As the county grows, so does the size of county government and its space requirements. I believe that a vast majority of the old style paper records and books can be digitized, which would not only save space, but make retrieval of information easier and provide office space in the future.

The fourth challenge is the need to provide animal control as mandated by the Indiana Legislature. I believe the county should continue to explore possibilities of partnering with the Humane Society and Cause for Paws to expand our animal control services, while at the same time making certain that we are providing those services as effectively and inexpensively as possible, especially in this time of decreased funding due to property tax reform.

It has been an honor to serve Cass County for the past 30 years. After beginning a five-year stint in the sheriff’s office in 1979, I went on to serve as an elected official in several key posts, including county recorder for five years, county auditor for eight years and county clerk for eight years. I most recently have served on the county council for the past four years — one year as vice president and two years as president. I have attended state-sponsored seminars on courthouse security, taxation and spending and even road maintenance. This background and experience enables me to quickly understand problems and work on solutions, which are effective, economical and in the interest of the citizens of Cass County.

Thank you for all your support these many years.



Jeff LeDonne

I believe the No. 1 issue facing us is how the “circuit breaker” is going to affect Cass County government. To my understanding, the latest numbers put out by the state is that Cass County will be cutting just over $450,000 in 2009 and a total of just over $900,000 in 2010. I feel that the last thing we want to do is cut personnel so we need to tighten up our department budgets (many of the departments are pretty tight already) and make the cuts we can. The things that I feel that we can do are:

• Any future spending needs to buy the things that are going to help make things in the daily operations become more efficient and to where we are not duplicating services and/or entries.

• We have departments that still have fat to cut so we need to work on cutting out their money.

• Control vehicle use especially with the increased fuel price. So, we need to put a tighter control on the vehicles owned by the county and others that are using county fuel and/or county fuel cards — parking the vehicles in off-duty hours.

• We need to put a freeze on hiring, tighten-up on the overtime pay and cut the part-time work.

• Instead of hiring/paying some of the high priced maintenance companies; utilize our own personnel in performing some of the necessary maintenance.

The main reason why I feel that I should be chosen as one of your County Council At-Large members is because:

• It is always easier to complain than to put out an effort trying to help fix the problem.

• Cass County is largely an agricultural county. I have been involved in farming and/or agri-related business all my life.

• I have been involved in several organizations for many years including Indiana Farm Bureau board member, Cass County 4-H Fair Board (former president), Cass County Soil and Water Board and Cass County Zoning Board of Appeals.

I was born in Cass County and have lived here all my life. I have always felt that Cass County is the only place I have ever wanted to live. And now, it is my time to repay the taxpayers and the special people who have been an influence in my life.



Cameron Mills

My name is Cameron Mills, and I am excited to have the opportunity to serve you.

As an Indiana farmer, May is a very busy time for me and my family. I am currently dictating notes on this essay to my wife over the phone since I am sitting in my Case IH tractor planting a field of corn. I share this with you that you might know just how hard I intend to work for our county. Whether in the field or sitting in a council meeting, I feel that a council member must always be working for their community.

The business of managing the county’s budget is a serious one simply because the county council is assigned the task of deciding how our friends’ and neighbors’ tax dollars should be spent. This requires a person with strong principles, a common sense approach and a responsible decision-making ability so that our taxes are properly put to work for you and our shared home in Cass County.

Ten men and women are running for only three seats on the Cass County Council. Why are there so many wishing to be elected to these seats? Simply because we all see the waste that is rampant in our local government and each of us as candidates are eager for the opportunity to better the lives of the residents of Cass County. My opinion is that the methods or ideas that have been utilized over the last couple years are simply not working. It is time for new blood on the Cass County Council. It is time for the people who hold this office to realize the magnitude of the responsibility that has been placed on the and for those that are elected to balance the budget with a sense of duty in knowing that they serve others and not themselves.

I am honored to have been given the chance to participate in this election, and I ask for your vote.



Jim Parsons

The biggest question voters have on their mind is, “Why have my property taxes gone up so much?” So much so that it affects whether they can pay their bills, afford their home or even sell it. I’ve heard from so many people that their property taxes are higher than they should be. They even suggest that if the county will pay them the assessed value, the county can buy their today! Because the assessed value many times is much higher than the actual market value.

Everyone knows we need services like police, fire, schools and roads. They just don’t understand why it’s so expensive. Why has the county budget gone up so high so fast when our paychecks didn’t go up and our home values didn’t rise either? Who is approving the increased spending for all these services? The county council does for the budgets of county government.

So why am I running? Because someone needs to make sure the county budget doesn’t increase 5-7 percent every year when inflation is 1-2 percent. No one just writes themselves a check at home when they want new cars, bigger homes and better lifestyles. But the county seems to be able to write bigger checks every year and then increase the property tax. They are able to stay “under budget” because they increase the budget so much it’s easy.

The county has to exercise self control in spending in every area it operates. We need more efficiency with lower costs. We can’t just keep doing what we’ve always done and expect different results. Tough choices need to be made and we need to LIMIT spending at all levels of county government.

If you want lower property taxes, economic development and efficient government, then please vote for Jim Parsons on May 6!