Westerhausen vs Baxmeyer vs Conery in race for County Commissioner 1st District
The Tribune is partnering with the League of Women Voters of the South Bend Area and the American Democracy Project of Indiana University South Bend to publish candidates' answers to questions on the issues. The League and IUSB's ADP operates Vote411.org, a website with information about the candidates and their positions on key issues. The site also includes other tools to help navigate the voting process.
The Tribune has agreed to run candidate answers unedited, meaning any spelling, typographical or grammatical errors are the candidates' own. The Tribune is publishing only some of the questions from a selection of significant races. Additional questions and answers are available at Vote411.org.
Donald R. Westerhausen Jr.
Democrat
Cardiologist
http://www.VoteWesterhausen.com
Carl H. Baxmeyer
Republican
Planning Department Manager
http://www.baxmeyer4commissioner.com
https://www.facebook.com/Baxmeyer4Commissioner/Facebook.com/Baxmeyer4Commissioner/
Kevin Conery
Independent
Business Development Martell Services
There have been complaints that elected county officials conduct too much of the public's business in secret, even that officials have at times violated Indiana's Access to Public Records Act. How will you ensure that the public knows how business is conducted on its behalf?
Westerhausen Jr.: My opponent made himself President with all the features of a backstabbing behind the scenes deal. The 8/30 BOC meeting was summed up by Commissioner Dieter: “This is the type of garbage that goes on in Government”; “It’s a sad day in St. Joe County Government where someone is sworn in as a commissioner and in 3 days later is appointed as President” (7:44-10:13 video). Public comment was blocked by my opponent (11:55 video). Appointments are done without vetting. My opponent blocked a motion to codify a way candidates would be vetted (16:09 video). He placed J. Gobel on the Redevelopment Committee without vetting. Mr. Gobel appears on my opponent’s political Facebook page. Good old boys network? My opponent has stated the 10am BOC meetings are inconvenient and does not facilitate public comment. As “President”, he has not changed the meeting times. Why has he failed to address this issue? I will work to bring back appropriate oversight and public input to County government.
Baxmeyer: The most significant change in ensuring public access and transparency in how business is conducted would be to shift the time of the Commissioner meetings from morning to evening. People work during the day. Morning meetings make it difficult for many to participate. I would support changing the meeting time. That is why, as County Commissioner, I tabled rather than "rubber stamped" the Commissioner's Meeting Schedule for next year. Increasing public access to the work of the Board deserves more consideration and discussion by the Commissioners. Second, an unintended result of the pandemic has been a dramatic rise in the use of online meetings. While all meetings should be attended in person by our elected officials whenever possible, increasing public participation online should be encouraged. For some, limited Internet access is a problem. Better service is coming to many areas, and more people will be able to see how county business is conducted.
Conery: I believe that there should be transparency with the business conducted by the commissioners. There needs to be a question and answer period that the public should be able to attend. The president of the commissioners, Carl Baxmeyer, just brought a motion on the floor to spend tax payers monies. He wanted bring in a law firm to investigate the clerks office that is already being investigated by the ISP. I wanted to ask questions, however, they only allowed 3 minutes of comments after they already voted. There needs to be an agenda established that is sent out to the public for comments and questions before the voting of the resolution. That’s my solution.
The county commissioners supervise construction and maintenance of roads and bridges and provide for traffic control. What grade would you give the county on infrastructure and traffic control and what suggestions do you have to improve future performance?
Westerhausen Jr.: I think if you ask any resident, “How do you feel about our roads?” you would get the same answer and I don’t believe they would rate them very well! I would tend to agree, but I think it is important for people to understand the root cause of the problem and it is not with our local workers. I will say that I think our county engineers, road crews, and staff do an excellent job. I appreciate them and what they do every day. These are hard-working individuals doing a tough job with limited resources, and therein lies the issue. There are hundreds of miles of roads to be maintained in St. Joseph County and the state funding that has supported their maintenance has continued to decrease every year. This is forcing local governments like ours to do more with less. As Commissioner, I will be seeking ways to increase efficiency in our road repair equipment, processes, and purchases. We will be strategic about what we prioritize and find ways to adapt to become more efficient.
Baxmeyer: I gave the County a B+ on this issue last spring. Now, as President of the Board of County Commissioners, I have not changed my position. That grade represents a recognition of the outstanding work of the County personnel and a less than adequate level of funding. The main problem is that a change several years ago in the distribution of Motor Vehicle Highway Funds has not had the projected increase in revenue at the county level. As costs have risen, the ability of the County to maintain and get ahead of needed repairs has decreased. As County Commissioner, I will seek to work with our area legislators of both parties, to fight for changes in the funding formula to ensure that better funding is received from the state. This will improve our ability to maintain and improve a key part of our community infrastructure without increasing the tax burden on our residents.
Conery: The roads in St. Joseph County are in bad shape. During my campaign I have driven over hundreds of miles. I would give our county a C- for a grade. We have a lot of work to do. There is talk of building a new park in Granger. I think this should be tabled until we get are roads repaired. There are also some intersections in my district that need traffic lights or roundabouts. One off the top of my head is Auten and Lilac. This is a very dangerous intersection. We need to set a better budget for road repair.
In October 2021, the St. Joseph County Commissioners vetoed a bill that would have brought $3 million in federal grants for health outreach efforts to minority communities. The grant would have been used to hire eight new community-health workers, but commissioners rejected the bill saying they feared accepting the money could mean falling under federal COVID-19 restrictions. In your view, did the Commissioners make the right decision? Why or why not?
Westerhausen Jr.: No. The BOC did not make the right decision. If you review that meeting, there was discussion about reverse discrimination in addition to concerns about “falling under Federal COVID-19 restrictions”. Their rejection of this grant was to appease the extremist right-wing portion of the GOP. What a ridiculous argument, especially when a large portion of this money would go towards preventing children from developing cognitive problems related to lead poisoning. The language in the grant was no different than previous grants in that data collected would be shared by the Federal Government. The County should never reject “free Federal money” to improve the lives of children. Thank God the County Council over-rode this veto.
Baxmeyer: I support efforts to increase access to health care for underserved segments of our community. That said, it is difficult to pass judgment on a past decision without knowing the arguments expressed at that time. Had I been in office then, I would have asked several questions to guide my vote. What is the desired result? What is the timeline for success? If the timeline exceeds the life of the grant, what would be the likelihood of receiving continuing funding? If there was little hope for additional funds, the County should be prepared to shoulder the program burden itself. It is poor public policy to start a program, even a vitally needed program, without having a long-term plan for success to meet a defined need.
Conery: I have to admit I don’t know what was tied to this grant. However, I would have researched it and in my opinion we should have accepted the grants to help out our community. This money would have changed lives.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Westerhausen vs Baxmeyer vs Conery race for County Commissioner Dist 1
