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Darke County Commissioner Mike Stegall
Unfiltered
This past Saturday, I had an interesting conversation with a good
friend of mine whom I can count on to be brutally honest. I like
that about her, she tells me what I need to hear, instead of what I
want to hear. We were talking politics, about the problems, and
the people in charge, and jokingly I said I should run for
President. Immediately, she said “You would never get elected
because you aren’t tactful enough. Your mouth is unfiltered, and
you need to be more reserved for that job!” We laughed and I told
her that she was probably right about me, but that was the way I was
raised. We talked some more, and when I left, it made me
think; How would people react to a politician who acted like a
real person, said what he thought, and did what he said he would try to
do? You know, someone unfiltered, who does things the way he was
taught? The closest politician we have to that now is our
Governor, John Kasich. The people that work with him say he tells it
like it is. I have talked to him several times, and I see
how he can scare some people. He pretty much tells you what he
wants to do, and then, unlike others who just promise, he does
it. Now, whether you agree with him or not is your choice, but to
me, that’s refreshing. I do not agree with everything he has
done, but he has said that this is what he wants to do, and then he
does it. I like that, no surprises.
My friends will tell you that I am unfiltered also. Like my
friend said, I am not as tactful sometimes as I should be. I know
that. My mother used to tell me that I had the tact of a sledgehammer!
(Thanks mom!). My dad always said to say what you think,
especially if someone asks for your opinion. They ask because
they want to know what you think, even if it’s not what they want to
hear. I have tried to be as open and honest as I can be as
Commissioner. Sometimes, I am sure my “tactlessness” has offended
some of you. I am sorry, but I tell you what I think, even though
it is not what you want to hear. In the future, I will try to be more
tactful, maybe say what I think in a less blunt manner. I never mean to
offend people, but old habits are hard to break, and I am making no
promises!
It seems to me though that the higher up politicians get, the less of
them you really get to see, and know. They have people who tell
them how to dress, what to say, how to use photo opportunities, where
they need to be, and the like. Their unfiltered life becomes
completely filtered. They are all guided into a standard that
their “handlers” seem to think people want. But, do we really
want that? I don’t, I want to see and hear them as they are, not
what they are supposed to be. Can a person who is just himself,
be elected to a higher office? Wouldn’t it be nice to hear a Senator,
Representative, or President have a news conference and tell you what
he really thinks, instead of a canned speech, prepared by someone who
thinks political correctness is the only way to get this person
re-elected? Wouldn’t it be great to hear a politician say they
aren’t worried about his or her re-election, people would either like
what they do, or they can vote them out? A lot of the reason
people are disgusted with politicians is because they are not what they
were presented to be. This is a self inflicted wound.
Politicians need to remember what it was like when they were on the
lower end of politics, like a township trustee, or Commissioner.
Their interaction with people back then was real, they lived with their
constituents, and people knew them. They were themselves. They
couldn’t afford to lie to people, because their people would see right
through that, because they knew the person.
Being President would be awfully difficult. I know that.
But, I would really like to see one that was himself, not some figment
of some adviser’s vision of what he should be. Is that possible?
Would you vote for someone unfiltered if they held most of your
beliefs? Would this person scare you some? My friend was
probably right, I could never be President because I am too unfiltered,
and that’s ok with me!
Mike Stegall, Darke County Commissioner
Ph. 459-9555
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