New Thing 61, New Thing Every Day: Attend a Boone County Commission Meeting

In my old age, my disdain for politics grows pretty much every day, but I continue to be fascinated by policy, and local government is where we find most of the policy that affects our day-to-day lives.

Here are my 10+ things about visiting a Boone County Commission meeting

1. It turned out to be a big day, as the commission prepared to vote on moving to the next step of approval for tax benefits going to new company moving to town, Aurora Organic Dairy.
2. A dairy farmer testified about "organic" being a scam, a false advertising term.
3. Someone was concerned about the secretive nature of the process followed in getting the company to move here.
4. There were an awful lot of folks I know in the room -- politicians, economic development professionals, journalists, and activists.
5. Some thought I was there to take a side on the issue, but it was really a coincidence.
6. There was concern expressed about giving money to a company to get them to move here, but not to companies who are already here.
7. The measure to support tax incentives for the move passed unanimously, which was probably a foregone conclusion.
8. As soon as the vote was taken, most of the audience left.
9. Fred Parry did a good job. He holds the seat that basically belonged to Karen Miller for 24 years.
10. No, attending the meeting did not make me miss politics.