Commissioner Grades – District Four

Let’s evaluate how each commissioner is doing so far in their time on the Board. We will rate each commissioner on their abilities in five different criteria. The rating will be on a 3 point scale.

3 = Excellent | 2 = Very Good | 1 = Satisfactory | 0 = Not Good at all

Here are the criteria:

Reasonable/Rational. Does the Commissioner act in a manner that shows rational thought patterns, and does the Commissioner consider proposals is a reasonable manner?

Effectiveness. Does the Commissioner get things done? Do they move the Board toward accomplishment?

Political Perspective. Is the Commissioner focused on the local needs of the County? Do they avoid playing idealistic political games, and do they concentrate efforts on accomplishing county business?

Communication. How well does the Commissioner communicate with members of the public and with fellow Board members? Do they articulate their mission/vision for the County?

Entertainment. How crazy are they? Do they provide comedic content for the ARRRG blog?

Okay. Here we go.

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District 4 Commissioner – Ed Boettcher

REASONABLE / RATIONAL

Mr. Boettcher is on his way out. He will be leaving the Board at the conclusion of this term. Boettcher served many years and was almost always rational and reasonable. He earned a lot of respect from his fellow Board members. So, his departure is a loss of a strong voice of reason.

Rating: 3

EFFECTIVENESS

Boettcher always got things done. While Chairman, he ran efficient meetings, and attempted to wrangle the Board in a better direction.

HOWEVER, he was a part of a few fiascos. Most notably, the infamous Bank purchase. He was also on the Board when the housing department had to return funds.

Rating: 1

POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE

Boettcher is a conservative member of the Elephant Party. He is VERY conservative. But, he rarely allowed for the distractions of national politics on the Board level. Such issues are almost always irrelevant and a waste of time.

Our only tweak was allowing political resolutions on the Board. He let too many of those hijack meeting agendas while chair.

Rating: 2

COMMUNICATION

Boettcher was a clear and effective communicator. He was excellent at gathering buy-in for important projects, and he worked hard at understanding the County’s business. Frequent jokes helped a lot.

Rating: 3

ENTERTAINMENT

Boettcher avoided the silly histrionics that other commissioners are addicted to. He would rarely hoot and holler at fellow Board members or show off for social media. He conducted business. One wonderful exception is during his announcement in 2020 that he would not seek the chairmanship. He chewed the Board out. Ripped into them and called them disrespectful. It was wonderful and correct.

Farewell to Mr. Boettcher, with our thanks.

Rating: 2

OVERALL RATING – ELEVEN