Some thoughts on District Representation for Union County I: District Representation Benefits Commisioners and Constituants

District Representation is one of the major issues before us in Union County. As we move towards a referendum on this issue, I would like to offer a series of thoughts as to how adopting District Representation will benefit Union County.

Right now, each of our County Commissioners represent all of the voters of Union County. As such, their constituency is diluted across several groups with very different interests, needs, and outlooks. The most notable of these is the East-West split in the county – a split further complicated by the unique needs of specific municipalities like Monroe.

While it is true that our County Commission is charged with applying their wit and wisdom to serving the county as a whole, they are also charged with representing our needs as individual voters. At some point in the past, when Union County’s population was smaller, less diverse, and more geographically homogeneous, it may have been possible to reconcile these two competing requirements. Given the explosive growth that has brought a variety of new voices to our community’s landscape, it is no longer possible for anyone to adequately balance these tasks.

By moving to district representation, County Commissioners will be able to speak to the specific interests and concerns of their constituents and, in doing so, make sure that all residents of Union County has their concerns represented.

It will also make certain that the residents of Union County know which Commissioner they can contact to make certain that their concerns are heard. Right now, a resident who wants to make their concerns known to the County Commission must attempt to contact all of its members and hope that three of them will listen. While the number of Commissioners that residents need to contact will not change under the district plan, each resident will have a Commissioner who is responsible for representing them and, as such, should be responsive to their needs. They will also still have two other Commissioners, whose responsibility will be to consider the needs of all residents of Union County, to petition for assistance.