Dear Editor,
I am still waiting to receive a response to my email sent on June 3rd to Jeff Wooten, the District 4 commissioner (and vice chairman), regarding allocating SPLOST #10 funds. I proposed that a small portion of these funds be dedicated to enhancing the audio and visual systems in the commissioners’ meeting room and enabling Zoom and Facebook Live for all BOC meetings, a crucial need to give all property owners a voice.
I addressed the lack of such communication at the BOC meeting later that week, speaking directly to Mr. Wooten during Public Comments and then three weeks later in a letter to the editor. Clearly, Mr. Wooten is aware and yet chooses to ignore me, which is unbecoming of anyone holding an elected position.
Due to his failure to reply, I submitted an open records request on June 18th for all emails Mr. Wooten has sent over the past 60 days. On June 24th, I discovered that in 60 days, Mr. Wooten did not send a single email to a constituent. I know other constituents have emailed him, but he feels no duty to reply. Jeff Wooten sent a total of seven emails to various county employees, which were along the lines of “Thanks y’all,” “Thanks Paul” (Van Haute, the county manager), another “Thanks Paul,” “Thank you,” “I will be there,” a third “Thanks Paul,” and the last email was a one-sentence reply regarding a VRBO.
I have another open records request for all commissioners, as I want to compare the number of emails they have sent, but it will not take much to beat the pathetic fact that BOC Vice Chairman Jeff Wooten sent no emails to his constituents. The lack of response is disappointing and frustrating, to say the least.
Good leadership, communication, and making sound decisions are fundamental roles of any commissioner. I have gone to numerous meetings over the last six months, and it is disheartening to see the disengagement and lack of care for constituents from our local elected commissioners (except Dr. Hersey, who does care but is outnumbered).
I am sharing this update to stress the importance of being an educated voter. Make sure you are voting for the right person. As we know, voting has consequences. District 2 Commissioner Daniel Brown is on the ballot in November.
I do not live in his area, but if I did, he would never get my vote based on his performance (just saying). District 1 is also an open position due to Gary McElhenney passing away.
There is a chance to make real changes in our county and get some candidates who care about the county and its constituents.
Sincere thanks, Jennifer Ray, Putnam County