Vote No on June 9th

There is no question that a new jail is a legitimate need for our community. However, the County’s current plans for the jail site involve meeting that legitimate need in an illegitimate way.

Imagine if the county decided to put the jail next to your church or your child’s school; you would not agree with that decision or vote for that site. Now imagine that the county decided to put the jail next to your home. You certainly would have a problem with that site and you would hope and pray that your fellow citizens would support your opposition to such an inappropriate and incompatible addition to your neighborhood.

If Washington County voters approve the new taxes for the jail on June 9th, they will also be approving a jail site that is in the middle of a neighborhood. One family on Oak will literally walk out of their front door, walk across the street, and be on the jail campus. When they sit on their front porch, they will be looking at a jail. May it never be!

If Washington County voters approve the new taxes for the jail on June 9th, what will history say about that decision? Will it be a flagrant example of maltreatment of the poor? Will it be viewed as a discriminatory act against the African-American community? Will it a brazen illustration of the powerful taking advantage of the weak?

I urge Washington County voters to exercise the Golden Rule when you step into the voting booth on June 9th; do to others what you would have them do to you.