Public, Lawmakers Need To Know More About Counties

Fellow members, I am asking you to support my bid to become NACo 2nd vice president and a member
of NACo’s leadership team. Please study my platform. It outlines some of my priorities and goals for NACo.

            I know the great value of NACo to the counties and people of our nation. For many years NACo has
provided leadership, representation inWashington, policy analysis and programs of great importance to our
counties. I want to keep NACo the strong organization that it is today.

            My leadership and involvement in NACo over 10 years has taught me our organization must continue
to be a vital resource for local elected officials. It must continue to unite rural and urban interests to speak for all
people and all regions of the country in support of America’s counties as they face the challenges that lay ahead in
these uncertain times.

We need to raise awareness of the public and state and federal legislators regarding how county
government provides services to our citizens.

            This continues to be the focal point of my campaign for NACo 2nd vice president. It is a crucial
task we all must work on and it is at the core of preparing counties to meet the changing demands of our
modern society.

            Counties across the nation are the “front door” to many services provided to the American
people. Counties keep important records safe, build roads and operate courts, sheriff’s departments
and jails. We protect the public health and provide some basic and often vital health care needs and
social services.

            But far too often, county efforts on behalf of our people are unnoticed or underappreciated.
Sometimes, when federal and state lawmakers pass unfunded mandates to counties, the legislators
assume the job will get done, even though they have not provided the necessary funds.

            The truth is that taxpayers and local governments share the economic burden and additional
|responsibilities. Citizens and people at all levels of government need to know and appreciate the real
picture of county government and how it affects their lives. Counties can and will become stronger
through a determined public education campaign to increase citizen’s awareness.
Instead of having one week a year dedicated to counties, there should be an ongoing campaign that
focuses on understanding county government.

Improve access to and affordability of health care and social services

            Whether it is child protective services or health care for the working poor and indigent, it is
America’s counties that are often challenged with the increasing costs of such programs and providing
the care. In addition, we have a moral obligation, to address social justice issues and to help those who
are less fortunate.

            Of special concern is access to children’s health insurance programs and providing health care to

seniors. NACo must remain committed to protecting Medicare, Medicaid and children’s programs. NACo
must be prepared to meet the expected overwhelming challenge that counties will face caring for millions of
baby-boomers passing retirement age. 

            Further, NACo must remain committed to protecting community development block grant programs,
workforce programs, affordable housing programs and other efforts to assist those in our community with the
greatest need. We pay far too high a price when people show up at county hospital emergency rooms for basic

medical care or sleep homeless on our streets. We need to be proactive and plan to meet these challenges.

We need to strengthen our commitment to green building programs,

smart growth and sustainable communities

            This makes sense and will pay for itself over and over again. The energy cost to operate buildings
and vehicles is only going to increase. Only if we work smarter and take advantage of emerging ideas and new
technologies can we gain the upper hand. It is an essential component of securing a healthy economic future for
our counties and a quality, affordable lifestyle for our citizens.

            We need to encourage counties to engage in collaborative partnerships to enhance the opportunity for
green building design and practices, smart growth and sustainability. It is essential to stay ahead of the curve, because
remodeling, retrofitting  or trying to change existing developments is costly.

            Resource-saving measures are vital. We must reduce water consumption and encourage gray water use,
protect and preserve habitat and pursue low-impact development that encourages mixed-use practices in sustainable
communities. We must cut traditional energy use and pursue renewable and alternative energy supplies and more
fuel-efficient vehicle fleets. These efforts are tied to improving air quality.

            NACo’s Green Government Initiative is only a beginning. We must encourage counties to develop
programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and change misguided opinions and attitudes that green building
practices and sustainability are impractical, lower quality and too costly. NACo must be in the leadership of
showing counties how to tailor programs to fit their specific needs.

We must be vigilant about homeland security and emergency preparedness

            Regional collaboration is key because the threats we face do not respect municipal, county or
state borders. NACo should encourage regional planning and training exercises to maximize collaboration

among all levels of government and first responders to ensure preparedness.

            We need to resolve issues such as interoperability of equipment and encourage the use of state

of the art communications equipment and other technologies to enable a swift and meaningful response to

disasters or threats.

At every juncture, we must look out for our taxpayers:

            NACo must continue to provide counties with insights and initiatives to increase the effectiveness
and efficiency of  our services. Whether through lobbying efforts to defeat unfunded mandates or the development
of joint purchasing efforts, NACo must recognize that elected officials have an obligation to our voters to keep tax
burdens low. No doubt that the delivery of services costs money, but I believe we must do what we can to deliver
those services at the lowest possible cost.

I pledge to work by consensus and do what it takes to serve rural and urban interests in a unified way

            When I talk about Rural Respect – Urban Leadership, I refer to 10 years of experience and knowledge
gained providing leadership on transportation issues, from the local level to the national level. I have worked to
resolve difficult problems in favor of both urban and rural interests.

            My effort to lead NACo’s work on reauthorization of the federal highway bill, helping develop a
coalition of 10 groups including organizations such as the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference
of Mayors was a great learning experience. This effort highlighted the different but equally important challenges
that rural and urban counties face regarding transportation issues. 

            I know when it comes to finding solutions to problems America’s counties face, one size does not
fit all. Solutions to rural problems have their own dynamics and parameters, as do urban problems. Some
solutions must be tailored to specific circumstances. For example, it may be necessary to fight the
methamphetamine epidemic with different tools in different parts of the country.

            Also, protecting Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) for counties with non-taxed federal properties
is helpful, but in some areas, it is essential. In these demanding economic times counties must do everything
possible to protect revenue without increasing the burden on taxpayers.

Experience is a good teacher and a strong basis for leadership

            In the past decade I have chaired the Transportation Steering Committee and served on
several significant NACo management committees. In addition to being a member of the
NACo Board of Directors, I am chair of the 2006-2007 Strategic Focus Coordination and
Oversight Committee and co-chair of the NACo 2008 Presidential |Election Task Force, an
effort to place county government issues before the presidential candidates.

            As a county judge and chief executive, I preside over Tarrant County from the county
courthouse in Fort Worth, Texas. It is a county with 1.7 million residents in the heart of a metropolitan
center holding more than 6 million people.

            As your NACo 2nd vice president and as a part of the national leadership team, I
pledge to keep NACo focused on serving America’s counties.

            I urge you to support my candidacy and to join me in securing NACo’s wonderful future
by giving me your vote to become NACo 2nd vice president at this NACo Annual Conference.  Let
us leave all local biases at the door in Richmond and pledge to work together for the betterment of
NACo, making it as inclusive an organization as possible.

            As NACo 2nd vice president, I pledge to work with everyone to make this great organization even better.