(8/2021) County Commissioners have multiple ways to serve their constituents. One, which is not written in stone but is very practical, is called being the "glue". County Commissioners are in a sense the glue that keeps constituents connected to their county. In addition to our normal course of business, we are often informed of issues that may be relevant to Adams County. For that very reason I take full advantage of contributing to the Emmitsburg News Journal when the opportunity is presented.

At this time it is very important time to be connected to our residents because of the many issues at hand: the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to be awarded in the near future, Critical Race Theory, the sale of Gettysburg Station (formerly the REDDI property), and the approaching November General Election.

On Wednesday July 14 the sale of Gettysburg Station to a private developer occurred. This was a long sought-after goal of the present board of commissioners. The property sat for too many years as an abandoned eye sore with no viable future. The commissioners were determined to change the course for this property and create an asset for the community that would offer a mix of residential and commercial uses.

The first strategic step was to purchase the property from ACNB Bank and put it into the ownership of the Adams County Industrial Development Authority (IDA). A bridge loan by Adams County to the IDA provided them with the finances to make the purchase. Following the purchase, the IDA, with guidance from our Planning and Development department, marketed the property to potential buyers. Finally, after years of failed offers, a sale was completed and the bridge loan was repaid. That is the short version of the path to a successful goal.

It should be mentioned that this sale was aided by a capital gains tax deferment regulation called a 1031 Exchange. This provision allows a buyer to purchase a replacement property for one that he is selling at a monetary gain. If that gain is used to purchase a replacement property, the capital gains tax is deferred. President Biden is trying to end this IRS regulation. The 1031 Exchange is a vehicle that has been responsible for incentivizing real estate investments that have aided our economy. Personally, I feel that ending the 1031 Exchange provision would be damaging to both the beginning investor and the experienced developer and ultimately to our economy.

Speaking of the economy, the ARPA is to bring approximately $20 million in federal funds to Adams County to mitigate the impact of corona virus and the related business shutdowns. The County will be administering the awarding of funds based upon federal guidance. It appears that the federal guidance is flexible enough to address the uniqueness of each county.

We are presently completing a thorough review of the guidance to ensure that the distributions of funds are compliant. The eligible uses range from dealing with economic harm to responding to mental health and addiction issues. There is also an infrastructure category that includes broadband internet. So, there will be serious choices that will have to be made. One such example would be, if several infrastructure projects are funded, it would likely utilize a major portion of funds and leave less for economic recovery and behavioral health issues creating somewhat of a battleground of decisions.

Right now, there is another battle spreading across the nation and into communities which are trying to protect their students from a theoretical ideology known as Critical Race Theory (CTR). Where CTR has been adopted, nonconforming parents have been harassed and nonconforming employees have been penalized or even terminated. It is an agenda that has entered our school systems, to the horror of many parents, having been promoted by the national teachers’ unions. Many people across our nation, including locally, do not even know this is taking place. Multiple states have already banned/outlawed this ideology. Simply put, under CTR ideology everyone is identified by ethnicity/race as either an oppressor or the oppressed. Oppressors under CRT ideology are designated "racist". This type of teaching is divisive and serves to separate rather than unify.

Controversy does not end with the subject of CRT. Over the past few weeks there has been much discussion about election integrity measures being labeled voter suppression. It is my position that one of the most effective and simplest means to elevate and sustain the integrity of the voting process is to require a photo I.D. It quickly identifies an individual as the same registered elector and offers a secondary verification of signatures. Photo I.D. is available to everyone and assistance to obtain one is readily available. Banks, auto dealers, food banks, to name a few require I.D.’s. I have never heard that banks or auto dealers were accused of suppressing deposits or purchasing of a vehicle by requiring a photo I.D. In a similar vein, returned mail-in and absentee ballots should have verified signatures. This is the requirement for walk-in voters at the polls. A signature is strong testament of voter integrity. Why do banks not accept checks that do not include the preparer’s signature? Because without a signature there is no contract (trust) that the check was from the originator. In like manner, a ballot envelope must be signed and validated to ensure it can be trusted as coming from the elector who was issued that ballot.

In the 50 years that I have voted, I never felt that a request for voter I.D. and a signature was suppressing me from voting. Rather it gave me assurance that integrity was a fundamental principle of the election process. So, why do people want to compromise election security by eliminating identification and a signature when both are so simple to do? Weakening the security of voting only invites fraud. There are actually people in prison today who have intentionally violated election security measures. I

f election fraud continues to happen, why eliminate the guard rails of election integrity and security? For the record, former Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar was totally outside her authority waiving the signature requirement. The authority to waive signatures rests with the County Commissioners, not the Secretary of State, and not the Governor. The present Board of Adams County Commissioners have never waived the signature requirement, nor do I intend to do so in future elections. Count on me to support secure elections and I will count on you to vote in November.