In response to Anthony Evans’ letter, “Negative tone speaks volumes” in the July 16 edition of The Citizen, I feel a need to clarify a few point for Mr. Evans.

This week I have been humbled by receiving your votes to elect me to serve as Sheriff Johnson’s successor and your next sheriff. Your kind words of support and encouragement have made the journey to this moment all the more memorable. I have always felt a sense of responsibility to our community and I pledge to you that we will strengthen our commitment to providing for your safety and well-being.

When I decided to run for the office of county commissioner, I made a commitment to my supporters that I would conduct my campaign in a clean and positive fashion.

It has been a busy time since my last letter. We had an election. I finished first in my race, but did not get enough to win without a runoff election. The runoff will be Aug. 5.

What does God expect of America?

That may seem like a very presumptuous question. I do not claim to have received any direct communication from God on this matter. The only authority that can be cited for answering a question about what God’s thoughts would be on a matter is an appeal to Holy Scripture.

One of my favorite cliches of life is the story of gazelles and the lions. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, it goes like this. “Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle ... when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”

Ben Nelms had it half right in his editorial, “Corporate environmentalist killing cause,” but what I’ve run into is corporate greed standing in the way of individual environmentalists.

It is truly hard to lose an election which you so badly wanted to win, and worked so hard to succeed, and accomplish.

[Editor’s note: This email was sent Tuesday, July 8, at 7:05 p.m., after The Citizen had gone to press.]

Over the last 18 months that I have been in office, I have avoided letter writing campaigns to the media outlets. Quite frankly, I have held firm the belief that your vote for me reflected your trust in my ability to serve as your representative and to make sound and informed decisions on your behalf; and this I have and will continue to do.

I’ve seen the recent letter from Commissioner Jack Smith “explaining the truth.” I’m not sure how many of you read through the entire letter and I don’t know how interested you are in all this.

I have read several Free Speech comments regarding the proposed development at Line Creek West, in which the writers blamed City Council for decisions that were actually made 30 years ago.

My name is Matt Bednarick and I am 15 years old and my English tutor wanted me to write an op-ed.

Help save Line Creek. I read that somebody wanted to build another shopping center at the Line Creek nature area. What?

After reading Bill Webster’s letter, “Crying ‘wolf’ on racism: Some ideas,” in the July 2 edition of The Citizen several times I felt obligated to reply. Unfortunately, I did not see the previous letter by Mr. Jones that he appears to be responding to. Thus, my comments only refer to Mr. Webster’s letter.

I was extremely offended by Sally Satterthwaite’s column in your June 25 issue. First, I imagine she offended a great portion of Fayette County with her remark that George W. Bush is the worst president ever.

For nearly 32 years I have been honored and privileged to have served you as sheriff. Together we have seen our community grow and prosper from a small rural community of local folks to one much larger and appealing to people all across the world. As we have grown, I have been fortunate to have been able to assemble a team that has been able to maintain the peace and tranquility we have been accustomed to.

Contrary to popular belief, the NAACP seeks to promote equality and diversity, especially where none exists.

For almost 100 years, the NAACP has sought to improve the lives of people of color. Some believe that the NAACP goes around looking for racism, but we actually don’t have to look for it. Evidence of racism comes to the NAACP through numerous ongoing reports of cultural bias, inequality and injustices from citizens and from vicious attacks in the media by narrow-minded people.

I think you were biased and unfair in your July 2, 2008, editorial: “Disrespecting our readers, the voters.” In my view, the editorial shows “disrespect” for those candidates who had the fortitude to refuse to be intimidated by your newspaper.

Who runs Fayette County? It’s supposed to be you; the taxpayer – citizen – voter.

I am usually an optimistic and positive person, I would much rather be telling you about things I support. But, because I believe that this commission is not doing the right things for you, I have had to become “The Opposition.”

Every citizen needs to consider the impact of the current county budget on your present and future taxes. With the exception of Commissioner Pfeifer, the commission proudly points out that the Fiscal Year 2009 budget includes only a modest increase of $1,436,280.

Re: Waste in Fayetteville government:

To Fayetteville City Manager Joe Morton: Thank you for your reply to my concerns regarding waste in the city of Fayetteville operations. I am genuinely sorry that one of our employees has lost his job over it. I will assume it was not because of this one incident, but a history of job performance issues that resulted in his dismissal.

My opponent in the upcoming district attorney election, Scott Ballard, claims he has been “tough on child molesters,” but I believe that the undisputed facts of the lenient sentences he hands out to accused Internet sex predators cast doubt on his judgment and his qualifications to keep our community safe.

I’m about as conservative as I can be, which means that to some degree, I’ve drifted away from the direction that the national party has seen fit to move since 1988, when Ronnie left office. I believe in true conservative principles in economics; in social programs; in national defense; and in crime and punishment issues, which is the main topic of this letter.

Why should you vote for Linda Wells for tax commissioner? Perhaps the most important reasons are for a fresh perspective and for a tax commissioner who puts the citizens’ needs first.

I promised myself I would not get involved in any political race this year. It has never been Dan’s or my style to get involved in somebody else’s race until the primary was over.

Upon receiving your invitation to participate in The Citizen Online Political Forum I was not at all hesitant about answering your questions. I believe the questions directed to the sheriff’s candidates are good questions and I have no concern about answering the questions directed to me specifically.

I am a graduate of Starr’s Mill High School and a senior at Clayton State University [in] criminal justice. I recently completed my internship at the Office of the District Attorney, Clayton Judicial Circuit.

To say that I am disturbed and upset over all the articles being sent in by Mr. Simmons week after week with all the derogatory comments bashing our sheriff and his staff is putting it mildly. To me, Mr. Simmons comes across as one that likes to stir up trouble and not one that is qualified to become our next sheriff. I know we have this “Freedom of Speech” thing and I believe he has exceeded his portion of that law.

For eight years, from Jan. 1, 1999, to Dec. 31, 2006, Fayette County government was truly in the hands of the citizens of Fayette County. During this eight years period, the County Commission operated out in the open so all citizens could see how Fayette County business was being conducted. The commission encouraged input from the public on all matters of substance. Decisions were always made based on what was best for the citizens of Fayette County.

My political views are conservative. My political philosophy is simply stated: The American work ethic.

I was raised being encouraged by my parents and extended family to “Be the Best You Can Be.” I was encouraged to follow my dreams and to work hard for them.

I want to express my admiration for Marion Key. I have followed her service on the Fayette County School Board and have always known her to be honest, open, caring and involved with the teachers, students and administrators. She visits every school in the system annually in an effort to be accessible and informed.