Never has a better small-government campaign been mounted than the one in Kerr County for the position of treasurer. Republican Ed Hamilton says that if he’s elected, he won’t do a single thing — he won’t even take the $46,000-per-year paycheck. Hamilton says the position is duplicative and could be handled more effectively elsewhere in county government.
Now, the “county treasurer” office is one proscribed by the state’s volumnious constitution, so the position would have to be abolished by constitutional amendment. According to the Dallas Morning News, Mr. Hamilton will spend his time asking legislators to pass a constitutional amendment allowing county governments to abolish the position and move the duties elsewhere.
Naturally, his opponent in the Republican primary is opposed to the idea. His opponent is the current Kerr County Treasurer, Mindy Williams. She was appointed to the position last year. She say’s the post plays an important chack and balance on local government.
According to the Hamilton, that’s “a euphemism for duplication of effort.”
Country treasurers fill an important role in government, but we should always encourage efforts to find duplicative offices and unnecessary positions. Asking questions about effectiveness and proposing new ways to do the taxpayers business is always in the public interest.
