Letter to the Editor from Teresa Eaton

I want to apologize to the citizens of Daviess County. I unintentionally missed a deadline to file a Personal Financial Disclosure form. My unintentional failure to do so has caused my name to be removed from the ballot for the primary election in August. I would like to explain to you, the citizens, how this happened.

The week I filed for Daviess County Clerk was the same week my mother passed. Please understand, this is not a good reason to miss such an important filing date, however, it is a contributing factor. I made a mistake.

This is a prime example as to why the office of County Clerk needs to work with and for the people, not against.

In a sense, I am glad this has happened to me. Many of us are housewives, cashiers, waitresses, farmers, fathers, mothers, retired, etc. We are not paid to be on these boards. We are volunteers. We do not read the filing deadlines everyday. We are on township boards, school boards, fire protection district boards, village boards, etc. We need help in making these deadlines. We fill positions to help our neighbors and our community.

When I asked Ms. Burton why a call was not made to me as a reminder of the filing deadline, Ms. Burton told me she was not required to do so by statute.

This is my thought. The county clerk should be here to help. The county clerk is not required by statute to call the members of voluntary boards. She is not required to call villages, political subdivisions or cities to remind them to publicize their budgets or to just help them through the process. A county clerk should work for and with the people, not against them.

My intentions are to file as an independent in the general election in November. I plan to work for and with you, the citizens.

We, the voters, need a choice for the office of county clerk. We need someone who is here to help. We need friendliness in the courthouse. We need a smiling face to welcome us. We need someone who is willing to work with the other office holders, volunteers of the boards they serve, and voters.

My hope is that you consider me as your county clerk in the November election. No matter who you choose to vote for, please exercise your right to vote.

Many have lost so much so that we have this right. Thank you for your time and God Bless!!!!!

Teresa Eaton, Gallatin