Wellesly Townsman: Commissioner Candidate Wants to Dissolve County Government

The headline says it all. Who else could they be writing about? 

The Wellesly paper checks in with a fresh story on the Norfolk County Commissioner’s race.

Here’s the keeper…

The Norfolk County government has a $34 million proposed fiscal 2009 budget, which is funded mostly by state reimbursements, a portion of the excise tax and fees on deed transactions, and a county tax that cities and towns, including Wellesley, pay based on their property taxes.

Translation: The Norfolk County government couldn’t spell waste if you spotted them the first four letters. Their budget relies (almost) solely on state and town handouts.

Boston Globe: Candidate calls to abolish county government

Tom Gorman’s plan to abolish Norfolk County government was noted in today’s Boston Globe.

Incuded in the note:

Longtime Dedham Town Meeting representative Thomas E. Gorman, a Republican who recently announced his bid for Norfolk County commissioner, says his sole purpose for running in November is to abolish Norfolk County government.

Brockton Enterprise: Get Rid of County Government

The Brockton Enterprise published a timely and succint editorial on the uselessness of “County Government.”

The lead graph is pretty devastating to County Government proponents – which would include all current Norfolk County Commissioners and candidates, with the lone exception of Tom Gorman.

“Most of the county governments in the state voted themselves out of existence a decade ago, allowing the state to take over the few essential tasks that were involved in the counties. Nine little governments and their bloated budgets went poof! — and just like that, taxpayers saved millions of dollars.”

Here’s another statement we liked:

“Some of the evidence that this extra layer of government is useless and costly is that its officers are always begging the state for money. Wisely, state officials have occasionally let the counties strangle themselves with their own budgetary lack of good sense. The state should continue to ignore pleas from the counties and just swallow them whole.“

Team Gorman couldn’t have written any better.

Patriot Ledger: “If elected, he’ll get rid of his own job”

John Kelly writes a must-read about Tom Gorman’s unique candidacy in today’s Patriot Ledger.

Our favorite:

Plenty of political candidates have run on a single issue. But Thomas Gorman’s one-item platform might baffle some: If elected, Gorman vows to fire himself.

Read the entire story.

Gillis: “We’ve done an exceptional job.”

The Daily News Transcript featured a story on incumbent Norfolk County Commissioner, John Gillis. In the article, Gillis appears confident on his chances for re-election, citing accomplishments such as “replacing windows in the Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham.”

Gillis curiously defended county government this way:

“The county level is closer to the people and we address their needs quicker,” he said. “If the state gets involved, the poor towns won’t have any engineering.”

Read the full story.

Daily News Transcript: Challengers Call for Change

The Daily News Transcript has a nice piece about the upcoming Norfolk County Commissioner’s race. The story focuses on the two challengers, Tom Gorman and Michael Walsh.

Here’s what we found to be an interesting quote:

When asked whether they would decline the $30,000 annual commissioner’s salary, Walsh said he would consider it and Gorman said it is one of his campaign promises.