2012 election season underway early

Even though the 2012 election for county commissioner is more than a year away, one local politician has already thrown their hat into the ring. On Saturday, March 5, Belle Everett, currently a Warwick Township trustee, announced her intention to run for county commissioner at a kickoff party in Dennison.

"I don't want people to think that I will be knocking on doors already," said Everett, "but I want people to know that I am running and I want to build a relationship with the voters of the county before a small race such as this becomes overshadowed by the upcoming presidential election."

Everett has been a Warwick Township trustee for 10 years, and in 2008 ran for county commissioner against Jim Seldenright. The small campaign kickoff party was held at the Dennison Yard restaurant, which opened early for the party, and more than 50 people attended throughout the day.

"With Dino Pangrazio graciously opening for us, and other members from businesses, along with members of the agriculture and industry communities in attendance, I think it says a lot. That they would show up and support me this early means a lot to me.

"The reason I'm running is to affect some change in the county. It just seems that on the county level nothing has changed over the last few years. It seems that all politicians, not just at the county level, think only in terms of getting things done quickly so that they can run on them again and get reelected. They're only thinking about the next election, and it's a constant campaign. What I want to do, and how I think we should be moving the county to think, is to think in the long term. What will affect the county 20 or 30 years on down the road, and what do we need to do to be competitive not only right now but remain so in the long run?"

When asked about possible election fatigue by the time November 2012 comes around, Everett responded:

"All I wanted this party to do was announce my candidacy and hopefully start building connections with people, businesses and groups in the county. I'm not going to start campaigning this instant, but I do want to lay the groundwork for the future. I want to establish myself before the presidential elections start and a small race like this gets overlooked. Once President Obama and the Republican nominee start campaigning in the area, more than likely my message and that of my opponent will be overlooked, so the way I look at it is why not start slowly and work to make sure people know me before the mad rush to November 2012."