Steven Henderson hadnt given much thought to throwing his hat in the ring and seek a seat on the Allen County Commission.
At 22, and in town barely long enough to meet his neighbors, Henderson decided to give elective politics a go for the first time in his life.
I wasnt considering a run until I started looking at the (voting) numbers, Henderson said. The lack of contested races, he surmised, quelled any enthusiasm for local voters.
Because of that, people havent been as engaged in local politics, he said. The local level is where the changes that most affect your life happen.
Henderson, who moved to Iola in late March, filed as a Democrat to represent Allen Countys Third District, which covers South Iola and surrounding rural areas, as well as a swath through the northwest part of town.
Henderson is facing the Republican candidate, Bruce Symes, in the Nov. 6 general election. John Brocker, who was appointed to the seat in March and lost to Symes in the August primary election, is staying in the race as a write-in candidate.
Henderson, a northwest Arkansas transplant, moved to Iola along with his fiancee, Rachel McDonald, hired earlier this year to run the Marmaton Market in Moran.
Since then, hes immersed himself in a pair of civic organizations, Iola Kiwanis, and the Iola CITF/PRIDE Committee. Hes also joined the League of Women Voters, and was recently appointed to Iolas Housing Authority Board.
Henderson said if his bid for a county seat is unsuccessful, hell strongly consider running for a seat on the Iola City Council next fall.
HENDERSON touched on a number of issues affecting Allen County, including Allen County Regional Hospital, saying he needed to learn more about the options facing trustees, namely whether they should continue to maintain its day-to-day financial responsibility by staying with a management firm or to lease the hospital to another firm, which would shift the financial obligations to somebody else.
Henderson expressed reservations about leasing ACRH to St. Lukes, which was in town to visit with hospital trustees about such a plan.
Theres a concern about doing a lease at the hospital, given what just happened at Fort Scott, Henderson said, referring to Mercy Hospitals announcement that the Fort Scott facility will close by years end.
Henderson also wondered how St. Lukes would handle having two hospitals within 30 miles of each other, since it also leases Anderson County Hospital in Garnett.
