Eric Williams and Susan Kirk Lead the Pack
During the first week of August, the City-County Observer conducted a non-scientific online poll asking the following question:
“Which of the following three Vanderburgh County elected officials do you consider to be the most transparent, trustworthy, credible and dedicated?â€
An assortment of Vanderburgh County elected officials that are not in the legislative bodies were listed on the survey. The respondents of the survey come from the more than 1,085 unique visitors to the City-County Observer’s website during the week that ended on August 6, 2010. A total of 208 unique users casted a total of 360 votes for an average of 1.7 votes per user. It is obvious that some of the voters chose not to utilize their three votes as the total available to be casted was 624 votes. The tabulation of votes in order of finish is as follows:
Sheriff Eric Williams: 102 votes
County Clerk Susan Kirk: 83 votes
Treasurer Rick Davis: 46 votes
Coroner Annie Groves: 39 votes
Assessor Jonathan Weaver: 27 votes
Prosecutor Stan Levco: 17 votes
Surveyor Bill Jeffers: 16 votes
Recorder Z Tuley: 15 votes
Auditor Bill Fluty: 15 votes
The ever popular Sheriff Eric Williams whose law enforcement plan was recommended by the consolidation committee polled very well garnering a vote from nearly half of the respondents. Susan Kirk who has established a record of integrity polled a strong second, leading a pack made up of political newcomers Rick Davis, Annie Groves, and Jonathan Weaver who seem to attract some appreciation. In a virtual dead heat for 6th place were the pack of Stan Levco, Bill Jeffers, Z Tuley, and Bill Fluty.
Care should be taken in reaching any real conclusions with respect to the ranking of these people. Name recognition certainly contributes to a person’s decision on whom to vote on and the name recognition among this group ranges from Sheriff Eric Williams and Susan Kirk who is very well known to some of the others who carry out their duties in relative obscurity. It is reasonable to assume that Sheriff Williams’ and Ms. Kirk’s strong showing in this poll is a strong indicator of their future electability to other offices. It is however no indication on any challenges that the bottom group may have as they are certainly not as well known. Their low polling may just indicate that they are not well recognized among our readers. All comments that we have received have been complementary of all of these peoples service.
The City-County Observer is encouraged that the people of Vanderburgh County and in particular our readers are embracing character and honesty as the criteria for election to public office.
