To the Tribune:
In a week, a momentous election will occur. The presidential election is momentous, but I’m thinking of something more local. It is true that the only politician more vacuous than Nancy Boyda, is Kamala Harris, but I’m not referring to the Kansas 2nd Congressional District election between Derek Schmidt and Nancy Boyda either. I’m talking about the Neosho County attorney election.
I don’t know whether Sheryl Bussell thinks we’re stupid or simply won’t remember how disastrous her term as Neosho County attorney was. She was elected as a Republican, but the term RINO (Republican In Name Only), would damn with faint praise. Her first political action was to try to implement gun control based on a federal statute that was eventually overturned by the Supreme Court. In fact, Kansas went 180 degrees the other direction and instituted constitutional carry. Not only was Bussell on the wrong side of her constituents, she was on the wrong side of the law.
Her egression of the law didn’t end there as outlined by an extensive exposé in this very newspaper, The Chanute Tribune. She began bouncing personal checks. As reported by the Tribune, people were unable to contact her for restitution and some feared complaining as she might use her position as county attorney to retaliate. In the almost 44 years I’ve resided in Chanute, I’ve never read, before or since, the Chanute Tribune itself call for the resignation of a politician. They did so for Sheryl Bussell. She refused and was eventually turned out of office in a primary with a 3 to 1 vote against her. But hey, that’s distant past right? Well, let’s consider something more recent.
I think Neosho County Community College’s Hudson Field could have been constructed in a better place on their campus, but the Hudson family paid for it, so they got a say in where it goes. On occasion a foul ball will be dinked over the backstop and end up in Bussell’s yard. These regulation balls, from what I’ve been told, are quite expensive. She confiscated the balls, put up signs prohibiting retrieval and refused to return them. I can’t think of anything pettier. In response to this, NCCC had to install netting using our taxes, costing upwards of $200,000.
When Linus Thuston resigned, a magistrate appointed an attorney temporarily to the position until the Neosho County Republicans could nominate a replacement. We nominated the same attorney and Gov. Kelly installed her for the remainder of the term. In the short time in office, she has implemented an audit of funds the office was handling and when completed intends to disburse some of the funds to local police and sheriff offices. She has proceeded with the prosecution of languishing offenses, locking up the offenders. She has returned to her office prosecutions that were farmed out due to conflicts of interest, saving us thousands of tax dollars. There is only one name on the ballot worthy of the position of Neosho County attorney, Tiana McElroy. Bernard J. Neyer, Chanute
