Three Commissioners or five?
Question to be put to voters on August 16th
by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online!
May 20, 2011
Pinedale resident, Paul Rock initiated a campaign to see if enough citizens were supportive of the idea of increasing the number of county commissioners in Sublette County from three to five.
In order to get the question on the ballot for voters to decide in an election, he needed 351 signatures. He succeeded in getting more than the required signatures to file a petition with the Sublette County Clerk, so the question will be put to a vote on Tuesday, August 16th in a special election. This will be the only issue on the ballot.
Rock said the "Go To 5" campaign is a non-partisan, grassroots effort representing people from all over Sublette County.
When asked why Sublette County would be better served having five commissioners over three, Rock responded, "Simple math. Just as two heads are better than one so too are five heads better than three."
The "Go To 5" campaign gives two arguments for wanting to increase the number of commissioners: "More representation" and "more financial oversight."
Rock said he didn’t have anything negative to say about the current commissioners or any specific issue where he felt the public wasn’t given enough voice in the decision-making process. "Having more points of view available for consideration is a healthy thing. Representation will be literally increased 66%. Financial oversight and oversight of all sorts will be literally increased 66%. Once again, the math is simple," he said.
"Go To 5 is not saying the present commissioners are fiscally irresponsible. We are saying five county commissioners will offer more financial oversight, at least 66% more to be specific."
Rock said this was not a question of three county commissioners being insufficient or negligent. "It is a matter of five county commissioners being able to offer more points of view and more oversight on everything."
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