If recent years have taught us anything, it’s that Adams County residents deserve better government.
    While many of the current administrative leaders at the county building deserve a good deal of praise for the transparency and ethical reforms undertaken in the past year, the work is not done.
    For residents who want to demand that change on the Board of Commissioners, Ballot Question 1A gives them that opportunity — but it is not without flaw.
    In a perfect world, Ballot Question 1A would appear as a single up-or-down vote on a single proposal to modify the number of county commissioners from three to five and the areas they represent — a simple way for voters to demand change.
    As it is, voters are being given two questions in one with 1A — and too many options.
    We support expanding the Board of Commissioners to five members, but we find it difficult to be anything but reluctant in endorsing 1A to voters because of how the ballot question in structured.
    The best system for the board going forward seems to be the simple addition of two at-large commissioners voted on by the entire county, while keeping three commissioners to serve their representative districts, elected solely by the residents of their respective districts.
    Unfortunately, Ballot Question 1A leaves the door open for two other options: Five commissioners from five new districts to be elected by the whole county, or the addition of two at-large commissioners while leaving the current three commissioner districts in place to be voted on by the whole of the county.
    Furthermore, the structure of Ballot Question 1A leaves open a conundrum in which Adams County is left with a new format for the board of commissioners that is not reflective of the majority of voters.
    Should enough voters marking ‘No’ on the first half of the question undervote on the three subsequent options for expanding the board to five commissioners, the winning option for expanding the board could quite possibly have fewer total votes than the whole of the ‘No’ votes, even if the majority of voters favor expansion. That’s not the way you change the basic format of the board, even if a clear majority vote ‘Yes.’
    While the current system of electing three commissioners from three districts ensures a degree of equal representation across the county geographically, it doesn’t reflect the true intent of voters from those specific areas. If we want commissioner districts to mean anything more than just a buffer between where each commissioner lives, the residents of the districts must be the sole deciders when it comes to choosing their commissioner. It will allow those three commissioner to get local with the issues and bring more voices before the board — this is the heart of representative government.
    But perhaps beyond all the scandals and reforms, the talk about corruption and who will serve voters, there is an undeniable truth we must confront: Adams County is growing. Our population is edging closer to half a million people. As we have emerged from the Great Recession, Adams County is primed for even further growth after being among the hardest-hit counties in the state when it comes to foreclosure and unemployment.
    This election is a chance for Adams County to declare that despite the many changes on the administrative side of the county, a mere triumverate of commissioners will not be sufficient to adequately address the burgeoning issues to come before the board.
    Ballot Question 1A is not the ideal way to bring about the change Adams County needs, but the opportunity is in the ballot and in our hands now. Voters would be wise to seize it this November.