Bumpergate

Dear Bill McReynolds;

I have been reading the paper lately regarding the controversy over your involvement with the sale of bumpers to the Sheriffs office. However, there have been very few facts accompanying the reporting. As a general rule, I would prefer that my elected officials refrain from doing business with the government entity that they preside over. That said, I believe that it is also certainly possible that your business involvement with the Sheriffs office may have been beneficial to the office as well as taxpayers. At this point, I lack the information needed to fairly judge this election year controversy. Would you please answer the following questions?

1) Explain the reasons why Force Engineering was formed.
2) What did Force Engineering produce, or did it buy and resell?
3) What was your role with Force Engineering?
4) There appears to be some confusion as to whether your involvement with Force Engineering was properly disclosed to all involved with the purchasing decisions. Can you clarify this issue?
5) Explain the rules pertaining to purchasing, particularly where a conflict of interest could arise.
6) Did the Sheriffs Department, to the best of your knowledge, follow the rules?
7) Rules aside, can you understand that many people, hopefully most people, are uncomfortable with business dealings between elected officials and government entities?
8) You may be our next state senator. How will this episode affect your decisions in the future, if at all?
9) Please include any additional information that you feel is necessary to fully resolve this issue.

Thank you Mr. McReynolds. I will include this letter, and your response, on my blog, freeracine.blogspot.com.

Sincerely,

Denis Navratil