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Bluebag Media
Commissioner gives
Edison students a lesson in government
GREENVILLE – Nobody cares for you as much as you do, said Darke County
Commissioner Mike Stegall… No such thing as luck. It’s called
‘preparation meets with opportunity.’ Every decision you make is your
own. If you make a bad decision… own it and learn from it! Make the
same bad decision again? “That’s just plain stupid!”
Stegall spent two days at the Edison Community College Darke County
campus Oct. 15 and 16 talking to 37 public speaking students. The
students, now halfway through their 16-week fall semester, were
required to interact with Stegall and later, evaluate his
effectiveness. Response to the commissioner’s presentation was
generally favorable.
Stegall’s speech was also a min-lesson in government.
“How many of you are interested in politics?” he asked one class. One
person raised his hand. “That’s sad… because everything I do affects
you!” He asked them if they knew why everything was such a mess. “It’s
because you elect them (politicians) then let them do whatever they
want.”
“Do you know anything about me?” he asked another class. “Am I any
good? Did I do anything bad?” No response. He told the students he was
running for re-election, unopposed. “That’s because I’m either doing a
h_____a good job or I’ve got everything screwed up so much nobody can
fix it.”
In the third class, he asked the same question. “Do you know anything
about me?” One student out of all three classes – Echo Brown – had done
her research. She started listing off his duties and accomplishments.
Stegall was visibly impressed.
The commissioner told the classes the difference between a public
servant and a politician. “A politician will tell you what you want to
hear… then turn around and tell someone else what they want to hear.
And it could be totally different. A public official will tell both of
you the same thing, whether you want to hear it or not.
“Don’t like the job I do? Vote me out!”
He told the students three people in the county control their money. In
addition to himself he listed Diane Delaplane and Michael Rhoades. “We
do what a mayor does, only we do it for the county...
Read the rest of the article at Bluebag Media
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