Zoning and Other Zoughts

Recently, on Pocahontas County’s most popular online forum etater.com, the user “muddawg” posted several questions to me about my overall political philosophy, my views on some national issues, and my views on some county-level issues as well. Below is my response to muddawg’s questions, left as it originally appeared on etater.com. The original thread at etater.com is no longer available.

Hi muddawg,

Wow, you sure have a lot of questions. :-)

First, let me acknowledge your fervent support for Senator McCain for President. I often tell people of how my 5 brothers and sisters and my mom and dad are all good Republicans and I am the only Democrat in the whole family. We are a close family. My dad and I speak frequently, deliberately, and patiently of our thoughts and concerns in this election. He will be voting for Senator McCain, whereas I will be voting for Senator Obama. We’re both OK with that, and my dad is the best man I will ever know.

As a candidate for local office, my thoughts must be on the county commission race and the myriad of county-specific issues and concerns that our citizens are talking to me about. So, with the exception of my one vote for president, permit me to respectfully leave the presidential election at that; I will say nothing further regarding the presidential election.

Being that I am a Democrat, my dad often tells me he hopes I am of the Kennedy variety, by which he means that I should ask what I can do to help Pocahontas County, rather than what Pocahontas County can do to help me. Indeed, I strive to be this kind of Democrat, and my dad knows this. As such, I feel that my task is to inspire the people of Pocahontas County to find within themselves what it is they can do for our community as well. I have met many people here that have done so much more for Pocahontas County than I ever will, so I think we’re on the right track.

Okay, let me answer your questions that pertain to the job of county commissioner. I will not answer your other questions.

“Do you favor increased County Taxes?”

- In all my campaigning thus far, I have not heard any mention or rationale for an imminent increase in taxes. Increasing taxes for its own sake would not be good. I believe the most recent tax increase Pocahontas County has seen was the hotel/motel tax increase, which I was in fact glad to see. This additional revenue has helped further fund many county operations and organizations. But again, as of late, I have heard no discussion on why we should seek to raise any kind(s) of taxes nor for what reasons.

“Would you support County sponsored Environmental Research?”

- Absolutely. We are a one-of-a-kind headwaters geography, with vast and lush forests and mountains. As a community, it is our combined responsibility to quantitatively understand our resources and find the best ways to simultaneously benefit from them and protect them.

“Do you favor County Zoning?”

- I don’t think so, no. I understand precious little about this issue and, frankly, I feel that we all could stand to learn more about it. It seems to me that such a thing is usually established at the level of an incorporated township, such as Hillsboro, Marlinton, or Durbin. For example, I believe that in Durbin one must go through some sort of process to gain permission to construct stairs, porches, etc. At least in theory. But county-wide is another thing. Most of our county is unincorporated of course. Having grown up in the unincorporated farming community of Spanishburg down in Mercer County, there certainly wasn’t any kind of zoning there, much less county-wide.

But there is something at heart in your question that is much bigger than one word like “zoning,” and it is the following: in this and any sensitive issue, the single most important thing I have to offer Pocahontas County is not whether I am pro-this or anti-that. It is that I am pro-you. I am pro-discussing. I am pro-listening.

At the risk of sounding professorial or elitist, in 1765 John Adams wrote A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law. Therein he recalls the words of John Tillotson:

Therein Adams also declares:

This is the kind of stuff I am. This is the kind of deliberation I will bring to the Pocahontas County Commission. Consider. Think. Talk. Only in this manner can we find and make our future here together openly and honestly.

Almost forgot: using county vehicles for personal use is forbidden. I know that sounds “canned,” but it’s that simple.

Hope this helps. :-)

--
David March Fleming
Democratic Nominee for Pocahontas County Commissioner