Ruth Oosting: Supervisor McDaniel shines by simply doing his job

Some politicians earn a bad name. Once in a blue moon, one of them pops up and gives them a good name. Merced County Supervisor Daron McDaniel represents his district as if his job depends on it. He demonstrates a hands-on approach to all the major issues facing Merced County. When first elected, he tackled the water issue by meeting and proposing solutions with all concerned groups – from farmers to business leaders to local citizens.

McDaniel broke the mold among local officials by holding multiple workshops to help residents find and apply for grants, a giant leap from the meaningless election promises made by most politicians.

I’m proud of our supervisor for his use of discretionary funds to repair the leaking roof of the county-owned Veterans Hall in Atwater. It’s a shame our county supervisor has to resort to using his discretionary fund to repair a roof of a county-owned building. County officials are responsible for protecting government-owned property under their control. This is why government gets a bad name. Failing to repair the roof has already cost taxpayers money for the additional damage. Public works should have a repair crew on the job immediately – no questions asked.

This story was originally published February 8, 2016 at 12:20 PM with the headline "Ruth Oosting: Supervisor McDaniel shines by simply doing his job."