Unwanted rancor

Quorum Court power moves not good government

To a seemingly increasing degree, people don't much care for hearing ideas with which they might differ.

That's long been true down at the mercantile or diner where the coffee drinkers, in a longtime tradition, gather in self-se- lecting, like-minded groups of affirmation. But when it comes to local government, it has seemed elected officials were still close enough to the people, and to each other, that the rancor remained subdued. It's not that tensions never cropped up when a hot topic came along. But it didn't often cross over into a personal animosity and political bitterness.

Having covered a lot of government decisions and policy through the years, we remember conversations with members of both parties about the divisions in the nation's Capitol and how everyone around these parts was so glad those attitudes and tactics had not trickled down to the elected local folks holding partisan offices.

Yes, people ran as Republicans and Democrats, but once in office, they tended more toward respectful debate and even (gasp!) compromise. It wasn't unheard of for a Democrat and Republican to unify to address a local problem affecting local people. Indeed, it seemed their party was “Local” more than it was an “R” or a “D.”

We don't hear those conversations anymore. In Benton County, the partisan divide doesn't really exist because the Quorum Court there is all Republican. But in Washington County, the split is 10 Republicans and five Democrats, with a Republican county judge. And any observer will attest that partisan rancor is at the heart of how county business is conducted in Washington County.

The most recent example is Republican Jim Wilson's proposal to limit how the justices of the peace on the Quorum Court can bring proposals or ordinances before that body. He proposes that all ordinances would be required to start in a standing committee, all of which are appointed by County Judge Joseph Wood and favor Republicans in their makeup.

Because every justice of the peace is duly elected from one of 15 districts and they all represent Washington County residents, any proposal that shifts the power of even introducing an ordinance to one party or the other unfairly restricts the representation of residents whose JP is in the minority, in this case Democrats. In the past, a justice of the peace, regardless of party, could introduce an ordinance directly to the Quorum Court.

The effect and, likely, the goal is to further diminish the ability of minority Democrats to even have their ideas heard.

Wilson also proposes that any measure voted down once shall not be eligible to be reconsidered for at least a year.

It's never made sense to us that a political body, made up of 15 equally authorized members, should establish measures that reduce any elected official's capacity to represent his or her constituents. But what's proposed is a cynical power grab. Those in the majority should ask themselves: Would I support this if I were in the minority? If the answer is no, it's a bad rule. If it's only a good rule as long as your party holds the majority, then you don't appreciate good government. Unfortunately, a lot of energy is spent trying to stifle debate. To the Republicans, who find it easy to be sure of a controlling majority in voting, it seems debate is viewed as a waste of time because they're comfortable they already have the votes in hand.

So why debate ideas? Because it's in debate, among people who can respect that voters elected all 15 members of the Quorum Court, that better solutions rise to the surface. And we've always appreciated local governmental bodies that viewed their jobs to be representatives of county residents first, ahead of party. That seems to be a fading concept.

It's as though Washington County's Republicans have embraced the cancel culture, as long as the ones getting canceled are the Democrats.

Joe Biden, formerly a Democratic senator, is said to have told a story about his interactions with now-former Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. On an occasion in which Biden tried to explain a Democratic piece of legislation, McConnell raised his hand in a “stop” gesture and responded “You must be under the mistaken impression that I care.”

That's the tone of what's coming from the Republicans within Washington County government, and it's unfortunate. They're using parliamentary procedures not to promote organized debate, but to shut down debate. Logic suggests, with twice as many members on the Quorum Court, that the Republicans will carry the day on most votes. So why set up barriers to those in the minority? Why try to shut off even a consideration of their ideas at the Quorum Court? Does a fair debate on the basis of policy and substance unnerve them?

The easiest and least constructive behavior in local government is to dismiss anyone whose ideas might differ from one's own. But watch the proceedings of the Washington County Quorum Court and it's easy to come away disgusted by the raw power moves. Rather than treating other elected JPs as colleagues, duly elected, the Republican majority appears to treat them as enemies to be conquered.

The Quorum Court ought to function on the basic appreciation that all 15 members got elected by the citizens of Washington County and deserve to have their voices respected.

The current leadership in Washington County doesn't appear interested or comfortable with that.