Re: We Need Gwen Tidwell
I normally don't speak out in elections. However, I am astonished by the remarks of one of your opinion writers. We need Gwen Tidwell? Really? Let's take a look at the rest of the story.
It may be true that she has collected $70 million and has hired a collection agency to go after $50 million, but drum roll please........the $50 million was actually $92 million to begin with. Forty-two million dollars was "written off." So let's do the math here. That's $162 million that should have been collected and only $70 million was collected. Simple math says that's less than 50 percent collections.
Qualifications are brought up. Why in the world does anyone think that being a lawyer makes you qualified to be a clerk? If I went to law school and earned my degree, I think I would rather be a lawyer than a clerk. I think that being a lawyer, qualifies you to be a lawyer.
"Hers is an administrative post"..... Vince Dean was a proven administrator, even before he became a proven legislator. The fact that he has helped write some of the laws that dictate the clerk's office would, in my opinion, make him uniquely qualified. Now here's another take on it: if her being a lawyer qualifies her, because lawyers use the office every day, let's not forget to look at the fact that Vince was a police officer and they use the office every day, too.
A handful of lawyers endorsed her? The Fraternal Order of Police and the International Brotherhood of Police Officers both endorsed Vince. That's a lot of folks that use the clerk’s office every day.
"Her staff adores her?" Well I'm sure some of them do. However, in a recent public speech, Vince Dean said that someone in the clerk's office had texted him pictures of boxes of files stacked on the floor. Also, I heard one of her employees told Mr. Dean, I hope you never talk to me the way that she has. The fact is that many of her employees, anonymously of course, for obvious reasons, prefer that she not show up in the office, as is the norm for her. They like having her absent because things are more "peaceful."
Oh no, we don't need Gwen Tidwell, we need a change. We need Vince Dean.
Nikki Bruce Giffe