Proposition C Passage Examined on "Kearney Live" Radio Show

Jason Withington, who helped petition for a state audit of Clay County government, and Clay County Auditor, Victor Hurlbert joined hosts Mike Davis and Jim Dickerson on Wednesday’s episode of Kearney Live. Each guest played a significant role in crafting recommendations for Clay County’s Constitution Committee.

Jason Withington - A Better Clay County

“June 2nd, the voters of Clay County voted YES, 56 percent to approve Prop C. Friday (July 10th) is the deadline to (apply for) the Constitution Committee. Anyone can apply. You just have to submit an application and resume. You can find that information on the Clay County Circuit Court website,” stated Withington. “The presiding judge or judges will select seven Republicans and seven Democrats for the committee, and they have one year to come up with a constitution to propose to the citizens for a vote.”

Withington indicated the language on the ballot issue was simple. “Do you want to approve allowing the 7th Circuit Court of Clay County to establish a Constitutional Committee?”

Once the committee is selected, Withington explains, “They will write a constitution that will restructure and frame how our (county) government is structured going forward.”

“I’ve had hundreds of people tell me, ‘we don’t want wholesale change, we just want five commissioners, we want to keep our elected officials and we want to be able to vote on public debt, and we want the ability to recall.’ I would not support a charter or constitution that eliminated elected officials in exchange for appointed people,” added Withington.

Victory Hurlburt - Clay County Auditor

While many voters viewed the ballot issue as a referendum on the current commission, Clay County Auditor, Victory Hurlburt was opposed to Proposition C.

“The solution is right ahead of us. We have a primary election; we’re going to change that commission and they’re going to introduce a lot of sweeping changes. So, I didn’t see why this was necessary. The irony of it, the idea this was a referendum on the current commission, they (Gene Owen and Luann Ridgeway) put this on the ballot,” said Hurlburt.

“But I respect what happened and I think the real purpose in a representative republic we have is to have an active citizenry. I think folks like Jason (Withington), I think the press, things like what we are doing here today (with the radio station), are really helping that. People need to be informed and vote,” added Hurlbert.

KPGZ News - Mike Davis contributed to this report