Maxcy, Carlson Are Best Choices For County Commission

The coming years will, perhaps, be the most difficult in Highlands County government history. Major cuts loom for next year's budget, if projections are accurate, and we believe they are. Deciding where those cuts come from and how to protect essential services vital to the county will require strong leadership, good judgment and an inherent understanding of the direction our county needs to go.

With all of those considerations, we are endorsing Guy Maxcy and Jeff Carlson in their respective races for county commission.

Guy Maxcy has 16 years on the county commission and he's always been a steady, positive force on the board. In recent months he's taken controversial stands on issues such as economic stimulus that we have sometimes criticized, but we also gave him credit for attempting to make a difference. We never fault elected officials for trying to do the right thing.

In his race against Zane Thomas, Maxcy seems well suited to face these difficult times and has strong institutional knowledge of the county and how to make sure cuts are best handled.

Jeff Carlson earns our endorsement for county commission for his clear thinking and reasoning concerning county issues and how to best handle them. He has years of experience on the Sebring City Council and his accounting skills will be a plus as commissioners make cuts in the budget.

Carlson, who is running against Jeri Canale, has served on the Regional Planning Council and has an in-depth knowledge on issues from a local and regional perspective. As a city council member, he was cautious on Harder Hall dealings and also worked to improve city recreational properties.

Carlson said there is much the county can do to become more efficient by working closer with other governments in the county. He believes there are redundant services that cities, the county and schools provide that could be consolidated to save taxpayer money.

We like how Carlson thinks, and he has a firm grasp of the issues. For all of the reasons listed above, we believe Carlson is the best choice for county commission.