Editor,

I have done this before to no avail. So why am I doing it again? Answer: I’m dumber than a sack of nails. I got dropped on my head as a baby. I need my medication adjusted. Or maybe all of the above. Anyway, here goes nothing.

There is only one countywide race this year and it is for chairman of the board of county commissioners. One of the candidates is Maxie Jones and one is local politician Donald Lovette. For far too long we have had questionable local rule imposed upon us and it is all due to voter apathy. Everybody complains but very few take the time to vote. Now, one more time, you have a chance to vote and show the powers that be that you — the voters — are in charge. Not them.

How do you do this? You vote for Maxie Jones, a fresh face, a man of integrity, a working man — one of us. You do not vote for Donald Lovette, a playwright, a family man, a churchgoer, an all-around nice guy. The bottom line is, he represents the “same ol’, same ol’.

And there is one giant reason to not vote for him. Back in December when the commissioners were discussing millage rates, all of the taxing entities voted to stay the course and not increase the millage rates, except for the hospital authority. To be fair, Mr. Lovette, who works for Liberty Regional Medical Center, did abstain on the first vote, leaving it in a tie — three for raising the millage and three against it. Soon after the vote, though, County Administrator Joey Brown informed Mr. Lovette that his abstention was not necessary. During a re-vote, Mr. Lovette voted in favor of raising the millage rate, thus breaking the tie.

Mr. Lovette’s tie-breaking vote was egregious because it involved his place of employment, Liberty Regional Medical Center — the place that gives him his paycheck, the place where his bosses work, the place where people rate his work performance. Must I go on?
Mr. Lovette may be a nice guy but when push came to shove, rather than doing the right thing, he personally chose to vote his pocketbook. He consciously voted to raise taxes rather than abstain or vote no. In a nation where property taxes are plunging and house values sinking, Liberty County’s taxes and home values are strangely going up!

We need fresh air here. We must show the local officials that we, the taxpayers, hold the power — not them. That is why I urge you to vote for Maxie Jones to give us a fresh start and a chance at a new beginning this July 31. Please do not stay home. Don’t give up. Take back your government. Get out and vote!

— Jimmy Darsey
Hinesville