Last night’s WNIN- AND COURIER AND PRESS sponsored debate among the Republican candidates for County Commissioner was extremely interesting to say the least. Â The event at Central Library was well attended, despite the downpour that flooded most of the city streets. The three candidates, Brenda Bergwitz, Cheryl Musgrave, and Alex Schmitt are vying for the chance to challenge incumbent Democratic Commissioner Steve Melcher in November. We found it to be a very fairly-conducted debate, with questions asked by members of the local media.
Brenda Bergwitz, who bills herself as “the granny candidate†turned in a charming performance. She is clearly a woman who loves her country and is seeking to serve it yet again, after a career in the Marines. She has studied up on most of the issues, but was not embarrassed to admit it when asked a question that she had not formed an opinion. We were impressed by the fact that she has attended all of the County Commission meetings in the past year.
Cheryl Musgrave answered questions with confidence and good judgment, in our estimation. She was critical of the way the County Commission has sold houses that were beyond repair to people who lack the funds to make the properties livable. She spoke of her reluctance to charge a toll for the I-69 bridge, but said she would support it if no other solution can be found. Mrs. Musgrave also spoke out in favor of having County Commission meetings weekly, rather than every-other week.
Alex Schmitt was very noncommittal about the endorsement he received from the Republican Chairman Wayne Parke, saying that he (Schmitt) didn’t “know why Wayne thought it was advantageous.†Mr. Schmitt emphasized that he is a very “collaborative†person, using the word several times in his answers times. We were surprised to find out that he has never attended a County Commission meeting, although he wants to change the time of the meetings to later in the evenings. He stumbled over a question about caring for the blighted properties owned by the County Commission, responding that code enforcement should be stricter with overgrown properties. When asked if he was suggesting that the County should penalize itself, he responded with a rambling statement about wanting to trim the grass himself around County-owned property near his house.
The most disappointing part of Alex Schmitt’s performance came at the end, when each candidate was given the chance to ask a question of another candidate, Instead of asking a substantive question, he took the opportunity to try to sling mud at Cheryl. He asked her why she criticized him for voting for his good friend, Jim Brinkmeyer, yet she worked with Democrats who appointed her to the Redevelopment Commission. Her reply was that she had no idea what he was talking about,
