(This article first appeared in the May print edition of the Hendersonian.)
Candidates in the Democratic primary for county judge-executive Lisa Thompson Meyer and Les Jenkins-Mackey both say part of the reason for entering the race for them is the current political environment.
Jenkins-Mackey said he got into the race after seeing so much divisiveness and negativity on social media.
“I think there’s a lot of noise and divisiveness and I wanted to be a moderate … on the ballot,” he said.
Thompson Meyer, meanwhile, says she’s upset with how county elected officials are interacting with residents. She said county officials aren’t responsive to their constituents.
“They need to understand they work for us,” she said.
Jenkins-Mackey has spent much of his campaign in a listening role, he said. Instead of putting up yard signs and making Facebook posts, he said he has gone to all sorts of community meetings, including the likes of Audubon Kids Zone and the local Democratic party meetings. It also includes attending Republican party meetings, he said.
He said that may have raised some eyebrows, but it’s an extension of listening that can lead to an understanding, especially of those who don’t hold similar opinions.
“It’s easy to ‘other’ somebody you’ve never talked to,” he said.
This listening and attending numerous community meetings falls under a priority he would like to implement if elected—more often meeting people where they’re at.
He said he hasn’t asked for money because that money could be better spent in direct assistance to people, not a campaign, and he hasn’t spent a great deal of time posting on social media because he’s uncertain that continual posting will persuade those who are undecided.
His approach, he hopes, will catch voters at the meetings and persuade them by meeting and listening to them.
Jenkins-Mackey is a project manager for marketing firm Prospect Cloud, and he also coaches track and cross country in Henderson County Schools.
Jenkins-Mackey is also interested in increasing the county’s green spaces, wooded spaces and trails in parks. He said surrounding counties have more of those in their parks. There could be some ways to work with the city Parks and Recreation department, he said.
He also wants to find ways to satisfy people’s need for transparency, he said. A first solution is to move fiscal court meetings to the evenings, he said. While that won’t cover everyone because a lot of people work second shift, it will allow for more of the majority first shift workers to attend, he said.
He additionally mentioned the county using its text system more often to make notifications. He said he is signed up for both the city of Henderson’s and the county’s notifications by text message and has noticed the city sends a lot, while the county doesn’t send as much.
Thompson Meyer also has said she wants to meet at a time when more people can attend meetings.
She’s also interested in finding more money for volunteer fire departments. She said that’s the first item on her agenda on day one in office, if elected. She said they’ve received the same amount from the county for a long time and it needs to increase.
“Why don’t they have an automatic increase every year?” she asked. “They’ve got to get some help.”
Another initiative is finding a location for a homeless shelter. She said the community needs a place for the homeless so that they can have the ability to get the training to help them get back on their feet.
Thompson Meyer also wants to look at eliminating two taxes the county currently imposes. She said the occupational tax is a punishment simply for being here. She said it’s a “disgrace” to charge people for working here.
She also is not a fan of the insurance premium tax, which she said is another tax “because you live here.”
Much of the noise mentioned earlier in the article, no doubt, is associated with the renewable energy projects that have occurred, are proposed or have been proposed in the county. Jenkins-Mackey, along with fellow Democrat Rachel Bray, wrote a letter to the editor appearing in this issue that basically said they are in favor of renewables but the way that it has come to Henderson County—or is in the proposal stage to come—has not allowed proper community input.
Jenkins-Mackey said it revolves around a “shared governance.”
But he he said that the way we get energy will need to evolve.
“At some point, we do need to shift our resources,” he said.
Thompson Meyer has been an advocate to stop renewable energy projects. She was an early organizer for those against a wind farm locating in the eastern part of Henderson County and held a crowded meeting in a barn on her property last summer to discuss the issue. She’s also attended nearly every fiscal court and planning commission meeting since that time.
She also said there’s been a recent concern with workers for the solar energy systems companies in Robards speeding near a residential area and also running people off the road.
“Those things have to change,” she said, adding that fiscal court members aren’t following up on complaints (though fiscal court members say they do.) “They have got to take the people of this county seriously.”
She also said that the county needs to do more work regarding flooding and drainage issues connected to the solar panels.
Thompson Meyer said she has always been a registered Democrat. Currently, she said she is in favor of some of the things that President Donald Trump is doing, though not all, and said she likes more that he gets things done. She also said she likes things from both parties. These were answers to a question asking why she didn’t run as a Republican.
She also said it was too late to change parties at the time she filed to run for the office. (She filed on Jan. 5, according to Hendersonian records.)
She said, “I don’t think about party” and added that she thinks about what needs to be fixed and is a problem-solver.
Finally, Thompson Meyer said she has necessary experience. She worked as a global manager for chemical company Sabic, a job that took her all over the world and managing a $200 million budget. She also held management positions at Bristol Myers Squibb.
Jenkins-Mackey said that whatever the outcome, he hopes that the community moves forward in a more civil manner.
“Whether I win or not, I want to stay hopeful that we can move forward, being together and not being so divisive,” Jenkins-Mackey said.
