Politicians often slant the truth during election cycles, throwing out tidbits of information on their opponents to incite and, they hope, infuriate would-be voters enough to bring them around to a different way of thinking.
And they are hoping their posts, ads and talking points will ring just true enough that voters won’t attempt to vet the allegations but merely spread them to friends and neighbors until, just like the old game of whispering a secret to one person and then another and another, the actual truth has gotten so twisted it hardly resembles what actually has occurred.
Lately what once was a state and national trick of polished, professional candidates has seeped into local politics, with those hoping to earn election side-stepping what they can do for our county to talk, instead, about their opponent and claims about what they see as negatives in their camp, using only a hint of truth as the bait.
We hope voters are wise enough to recognize the ploys for what they are, or at least vet the words professed as truth when only portions of the statements actually are, in truth, facts. And we hope they do that vetting before casting any ballot in this year’s election. Early voting has started, and hundreds have already cast a ballot. All we hope is that they are doing so not out of anger over a social media post but out of a truth they have uncovered themselves.
While we do not endorse candidates, we do endorse the truth — not partial truth but entire truth. And we believe it is our duty to at least provide facts that don’t look a whole lot like some of the social media posts we’ve recently read.
Take the latest social media posts by a firefighter-turned-write-in candidate for the Dist. 4 Board of Commissioners seat, who apparently tossed his hat in the ring after the primary didn’t oust the incumbent and volunteer fire departments didn’t win a yes vote to a second funding request after getting nearly a half million dollars more than their initial proposal outlined.
One post starts with an Independent article about the Garland Shirt Factory closing. That is a fact. But taken with the entirety of the post, it looks as if he is casting blame for that closing on the current Board of Commissioners, which includes his opponent in the race.
If you read our article, it is clear the blame doesn’t fall on commissioners. In fact, the group which owns the factory clearly said the closure is due to low orders.
The same post goes on to twist yet another fact, noting that his opponent didn’t support fully funding the local fire departments in the 2024-25 fiscal budget. Fully is the key word, and even that has a skewed meaning.
From our June 15 news article about the county budget: “Under the 2024-25 budget, the fire tax rates will be modified to the revenue-neutral rate, some dropping 2-3 cents, however those new rates are projected to generate revenues higher than what was requested for the coming budget year. The revenue-neutral rates for fire tax districts are expected to produce revenue of $4,280,723 across the board in 2024-25, a $467,323 increase over the $3,813,400 in revenues projected from the district tax requested.”
So, county fire departments, who need and should get increases, received more than requested. Then they returned a second time to get a heftier chunk of the pie after the fiscal plan had been green-lighted. That request was not granted.
The truth is, fire departments received a well deserved financial pat on the back with nearly $500,000 more than expected from the county. They didn’t get additional dollars, though, when they held out their hands a second time.
While we wholeheartedly support our fire departments and want them to get as much additional funding as fiscally possible, the reality is the county had to dip into its rainy day fund to the tune of $12 million just to balance this year’s budget without raising taxes. That second request simply would not have been fiscally responsible.
And then there’s the so-called trash tax. While it’s true the commissioners initially supported the tax, which, they believed, would help bring more revenue into a cash-strapped county, the board eventually overturned it, listening to the outcry of the people. We didn’t support the tax, but we did support commissioners listening and acting on behalf of the people.
It is the facts that matter. No matter who you vote for in this or any race, read between the lines, do your research, beyond our own editorial even, and then vote.