The financial problems at the nursing home are a clear-cut sign that both the administration there and the county board have failed to meet the needs of the older population that depends on the fact that it is accessible to anyone, regardless of source of income or insurance. The home has been consistently supported by a majority of our citizens, most recently in 2002, when citizens chose to make a long-term investment in the future of the facility by financing construction of a brand-new, state-of-the-art building. The investment in the new home, as well as the long term investments in running the home previous to the move is considerable. A very modest increase in financial support to the home's operations is all that is needed, other than better management of the public's resources. This should end the need for support from the general funds, as well as provide that any future surpluses from a better-managed home can go toward repayment of past debts to the general fund.

Some argue that we should cut our losses and close the home. Such a move requires support from a majority of the county's voters, an ideological point of view that stands in stark contrast to the express wishes of the voters. No one has dared propose such a referendum and likely won't, but this inertia is matched by the failure of the county board to step up to the plate and get the home the adequate operating support it should have received in 2002. Without operating the home or sufficient income to support it, there will be no recourse to permit repaying the loans that the home has needed.

Some would argue that the county can't manage such a thing as a nursing home. While it is true that recent events have called into question the capacity of the current board to manage the home, that is an entirely separate thing from whether or not a smarter and less duplicitous county board can manage the home. My candidacy is your opportunity to make that happen so that no one needs to worry about whether there will be a place there when they need the nursing home.