Apparently, the Alabama governor’s office doesn’t care about us.
I say apparently, but really, we don’t know, because no one at the governor’s office has returned e-mails or phone calls from reporters asking about the recent appointment of the Marshall County Commission chairman. A quick survey of newspapers in Marshall County and at least one statewide reporter reveals that fact.
Gov. Kay Ivey recently appointed retired businessman David Reed to the chairman position following the death of James Hutcheson several weeks ago. Hutcheson had been chairman since 2010.
We have no issue with Reed. We’re sure he’ll do a fine job. We certainly hope so, because Marshall County is in the midst of several large projects, most notably a new, $35 million jail that will be built. We wish him nothing but the best.
Our issue is with the governor and her staff.
Following Hutcheson’s death, the Arab Tribune and other news outlets reached out to the governor’s office for comment and to submit questions about the process.
No one responded.
It’s been a couple of weeks since the appointment (Reed was sworn in last week), and there still has been no response to reporters’ questions from the governor’s office.
It’s not like we were asking for state secrets. We just had a few questions about the process, the timeline, the applicants, etc. We say candidates, because we assume Reed wasn’t the only person who applied to be the new chairman. But we don’t know because the governor’s office never told us. No one from her office told us who applied, who was interviewed, or anything else about the process.
Don’t we have a right to know? Don’t we have a right to know who Montgomery talked to about this job? After all, it’s a job that daily affects each and every one of us.
One sad part of the process is that Ivey apparently never interviewed any of the applicants. We only know that because one of the applicants told us he applied, told us he was interviewed, and told us who interviewed him – and it wasn’t Ivey, it was a few members of her staff. She apparently made the appointment 100% based on the recommendation of those staff members. We suppose it’s a good thing she trusts her staff that much, but it’s a little concerning that she never interviewed any of the applicants. Again, we’re assuming she didn’t because her office has told us nothing.
It’s as if the people of Marshall County didn’t help elect her, so she has no inclination to inform us of anything – even though this particular action affects everyone who lives in the county.
Ivey will be retiring from office in a couple of years, but as long as she is the governor, she needs to do better. She owes us better representation in the governor’s office. It’s not HER governor’s office – it’s the people of Alabama’s governor’s office.
She’s been state treasurer, lieutenant governor, and governor. She knows better, but, as we said in our opening sentence, she apparently doesn’t care.
When a candidate “applies” to be the chairman, or a commissioner for that matter, he or she puts his or her name on the ballot, sends announcements to the newspapers, posts on social media, etc.
We know who those candidates are. They answer our questions. They meet the voters. They put themselves out there.
But this governor, or at least her staff, apparently thinks this process to name a new chairman is none of our business and it's perfectly okay for the whole process to be done behind closed doors and away from the rest of us.
Except that it is our business. It’s our county. It’s our county commission. It’s our county government and we have a right to know who applied for the job and the process for naming that person to the job.
Gov. Ivey, you owe the people of Marshall County an explanation and maybe even an apology. You’re a lame duck governor, so we suppose you just don’t care what we think. But it does make us wonder what other decisions are being handled by your staff with no input from you. The people of Alabama, specifically the people of Marshall County, have put our trust in you as governor for nearly a decade, but apparently that trust doesn’t go both ways.
Do better, Governor.
Charles Whisenant is the editor of The Arab Tribune in Marshall County.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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