I think we saw an example of this in the recent primary. I’ve been covering Grant County Commission meetings and watching the workings of the county since late 2001. 

I’ve seen some good commissioners and some good department heads, as well as some really poor ones in both groups.

I’ve seen true laziness and unwillingness to do one’s job, but a county job brings one huge advantage. The county pays 100 percent of benefits to its employees. Very few leave the county, unless they are kicked out or find more lucrative jobs that give them better chances for advancement.

Other employees and elected officials stay around for years. I can think of two who have more than 30 years of experience at the county. One has advanced through several different positions and is now a department head. The other has stayed in the county through going back and forth as an elected official and often being the deputy official when out of office. 

But in the primary, I just saw that doing one’s job well, if you happen to cross your political party by not kowtowing and being a puppet to the party’s demands, your days are numbered as an elected official. 

Sheriff Frank Gomez is human, just like the rest of us, but when he was elected Sheriff in 2018, he jumped right into the job of fixing the mess left behind by his predecessor. That predecessor will likely be his successor, as the only Democratic candidate in the General Election, so he doesn’t have to campaign or worry at this point about whether he will be elected. 

Gomez, unfortunately for his continued career as an elected official in law enforcement, can think for himself. He opposed red flag laws; he supports the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment; he supports a safe border without illegals constantly crossing into the U.S. carrying drugs and/or promoting sex trafficking; and he supports his deputies. He fought to get them better wages and have a way to move up the ranks in an orderly manner. He has promoted the D.A.R.E. program and works with community organizations. Perhaps his predecessor/successor will continue these positive programs. Or perhaps he will fall into line with his Democrat party and its progressives and move away from the beneficial programs Gomez instituted. 

We’ll just have to wait and see, I guess.