Dear editor,
Good morning!! When I stepped out onto my porch to get my mail this morning, a flyer was in my mailbox. You might keep in mind, as you read this, that there was a reason, a big one, that I not only promoted Bruce Symes in the primary election, which he won, but helped with serving the constituents water, ice cold lemonade, and candy bars, along with basic information on Bruces history here in Allen County during the Allen County Fair back in August of this year. On this flyer, Mr. Brocker makes a point to underline and put in bold typeface the statement that neither Bruce nor the third candidate owns property (I havent checked this supposed fact yet myself) and then goes on to assert that neither have a vested interest in our county, based solely on this assertion.
Bruce has worked in, and lived in the county as long as I can remember … both for the Iola Register and for Allen Community College. No investment in our community? I dont think that is accurate at all.
Look at the list Mr. Brocker compiled on this flyer, which he drove around our neighborhood stuffing them into mailboxes (by the way, this is not allowed per the United States Post Office) this past weekend.
What really caught my eye? The items where he will cut our property taxes yet improve our infrastructure.
I would like to know his plan to do these at the same time.
On the subject of Allen County Regional Hospital, with the exception of the non-informed few, I have heard from the employees (I was formerly employed there) nothing but good, positive remarks about the current state of greatly improved employee morale. Ive experienced it as a patient, as well as an advocate, POA (power of attorney), daughter-in-law, and wife to patients there. The services that are available there, the new facilities, and the speciality clinics connected to ACRH, in addition to many other improvements leave me wondering which coffee group Mr. Brocker is getting his information from, as well as how dated said information is.
The date stamp on the photo on this flyer reads 4-26-2012.
My point? Mr. Brocker was over-confident in his long-standing existence here in that he assumed he could win the primary simply by throwing his hat into the ring.
I watched as Bruce took weeks walking door to door personally asking people what they thought about Allen County and its needs. And he really listened. He did not attack his running mates verbally to anyone. His integrity is above that nonsense. And that was shown in the results of the primary.
Mr. Brocker is hoping (again, my opinion only) to blanket Iola with hastily thrown together, generic flyers that list a few, general concerns that will strike a chord with anyone glancing over this flyer. You might take note: any information Bruce dispersed included his phone number. And he encouraged people to call if they had further thoughts or concerns. There is no phone number on Mr. Brockers information sheet. Mr. Brocker attached a little card to encourage people to share his face and his effort to win by write-in ballots.
I have to question someones sincerity when they didnt do the work initially to earn the peoples vote and now is doing a last minute grab to hold onto the office. Bruce Symes truly wants to do the honest, hard work of being a county commissioner. It is not just a passing interest.
Thank you for taking your time to read this.
Sincerely,
Renee Brosseau-Trembly,
Iola, Kan.