Janie Marksberry has announced her candidacy for Daviess County Judge-Executive. Marksberry, currently in her first term as Daviess County East Commissioner, said her decision comes from a desire to have a greater impact on local government and community progress.
Marksberry, 66, said she felt that she’s been limited in what she’s been allowed to do as a County Commissioner, and she thinks a change in leadership will help.
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while and pondering it and praying about it, and quite frankly, I just can’t stand by and do nothing,” she said. “That’s sort of the role of the County Commissioner in this Fiscal Court. We’re not allowed to really participate and go out and make changes the way we see fit. … I can’t just sit back and wait for something to happen, and we’ve missed a lot of opportunities.”
She cited multiple instances where she felt the County fell short.
“We’ve missed flooding money that we could have gotten when we had the major flooding, because someone just wasn’t paying attention,” she said. “We’ve missed opportunities where we could collaborate better with the City, and there’s just not been a lot of movement forward for our county. … I just could not in good conscience sit back and take a salary and not make a difference.”
Marksberry said the “debacle” at the Daviess County Animal Shelter was another main reason she decided to run for this office.
“And now the shelter vet has announced that she is leaving, and she will be very hard, if not impossible to replace,” Marksberry said. “I want to turn it around and offer low-cost spay and neuter services, because that is the only way we will help fix this overpopulation of unwanted animals.”
Marksberry said her background gives her a unique perspective for the position. She has spent more than four decades as an entrepreneur and has operated her own real estate brokerage since 2009.
“As a real estate broker, you have to be prospecting and marketing yourself every day,” she said. “I feel like I can bring that to Daviess County and market our community to the state or to corporations to come here.”
Marksberry’s first term as Commissioner also gave her insight into how government functions.
“Now that I’ve been in that role, I understand more about what’s happening with the government and what roles we can play, and how we can actually be better stewards of our taxpayers’ dollars,” she said. “… I’ve been to a lot of trainings and conferences, and met a lot of people across the state and in neighboring counties that we could collaborate with.”
Marksberry said if elected, her top priorities would be infrastructure and maintenance.
“I think our drainage is still one of our most pressing issues,” she said. “I would like to see the roads maintained, and ditches mowed regularly and cleaned out regularly. You didn’t use to see Daviess County in the shape it’s in today. You didn’t see two-foot-tall grass on the side of the road. I don’t recall it looking that bad in the past. If we have to hire more people to take care of our county, then that’s what we need to do.”
She said bridges, culverts, and overpasses also need more attention.
“We need to be more proactive with our maintenance plan,” she said. “… And we have money in the bank — our taxpayers’ money is in the bank. If we need to use it on the roads, we need to use it. We don’t want to sit back and just wait for handouts from the government.”
Marksberry also said she wants to foster more transparency in county government.
“I always try to hear all sides. I try to be a good listener and listen more than I speak when these issues come up,” she said. “… I would like to see more open meetings with Fiscal Court. I would like to have the public come and feel free to make their comments and not be restricted on time.”
Marksberry added that she would hold herself accountable through frequent public events and accessibility.
“I want to do town halls for sure. I’ll probably have one at least once a quarter, if not more often, maybe once a month,” she said. “I also believe I would have different hours at the courthouse … that way we would still be open for people that may have to work until five o’clock themselves, and they’ll have an opportunity to either reach out or stop by later in the day.”
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