Political heavyweights vie for open seat

By CHRIS MORRIS
newsroom@newsandtribune.com

— In one corner you have the chairman of the Floyd County Democrat Party and a member of the Floyd County Council. In the other corner you have a well-known local businessman who has been a member of the New Albany City Council for nine years.
They both want to be a Floyd County Commissioner.

When Dr. John Reisert decided not to run for re-election, Randy Stumler and Mark Seabrook filed in hopes of being elected to Floyd County’s governing body.

“It’s an important job and I feel confident with the new ideas I can bring to it,” Stumler, 40, said.

Stumler, the Democratic Party nominee, said it’s important to get new people involved who bring “new perspectives.”

While the Republican Seabrook has never been elected to a county office, he said being a commissioner is something he has always wanted to do.

“The city is part of the county. We all live in Floyd County,” he said.

Many issues face the county in coming months, from budget woes, jail overcrowding and a possible new youth shelter. Seabrook also said smart growth should also be a priority.

“I think one of the main issues is to balance progress out there (development) from business to residential,” he said.

Stumler said the commissioners will have a lot to say about what the county will look like in the next 20 to 30 years.

“We need more long-term planning,” he said. “Our government needs to set long-range goals and make it happen. Let’s not get caught in a crunch where we run out of office space in the future. Let’s plan ahead.”

Stumler said money issues should also be a top priority. The county has been crippled in the past year by two murder trials, unfunded mandates and the state cutting $3 million from the 2006 submitted budget.

“You have got to keep the cost down,” he said. “You have to operate within a budget. The commissioners control the riverboat money and EDIT funding.”

Read more on the Commissioner's race at the New Albany News - Tribune website.