Eaton wins commissioner nomination

May 07, 2008 12:19 am

— Roads and revenue will among the issues in the Boone County Board of Commissioners race between GOP incumbent Harold “Huck” Lewis and Democratic challenger Kiersten Quick.
Both were unopposed in their party primaries Tuesday.
“I’m feeling good,” Quick said after vote totals were posted Tuesday. “I got a very good reception from people.” She received 5,874 votes.
Local voters embraced Barack Obama’s “change” issue, Quick said.
The top issues she sees are fiscal responsibility, the economy and roads, she said.
Protecting the environment and encouraging recycling are other topics, she said.
Road funding will be a significant issue, Lewis said.
Lewis may have foreshadowed his campaign strategy when he said having “expertise” would be a “critical” factor for voters.
“We are going to have to work hard to push for more road funding from the state,” Lewis said.
Incumbent Commissioner Charles Eaton handily defeated challenger Fred Chitwood by more than 1,000 votes to win the GOP nomination for the District 2 seat.
Eaton felt Chitwood “didn’t seem to make much effort” to campaign. Chitwood was unavailable for comment.
While Eaton is unopposed now, the Democratic Party could name someone to run against him in November.
An issue will be the impact of House Bill 1001 property tax reform on local government, which “is still a little murky,” Eaton said.
“There is so much that is unknown right now” because of those questions, Eaton said. Forecasts now project Boone County will have a significant shortage of revenue in 2010, Eaton said.
Intended as a property tax relief measure, the bill has generated more questions than answers.
Until the impact of the bill is clearer, predicting which issues will have what priorities “is very speculative,” he said.