September 30, 2012 08:15 PM UTC

John Odom Rises!

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• by: Colorado Pols

With fewer than forty days until election day and just two weeks until mail ballots drop, Jefferson County Commissioner John Odom has finally ended months of silence and hit the campaign trail. Well, at the very least, he’s sent out his first major fundraising pitch.

From the Odom campaign:

Since John Odom was appointed Jefferson County Commissioner in March of 2011, Jeffco has become one of the most fiscally sound governments in Colorado. Within just a few short weeks after Commissioner Odom’s appointment, the commissioners cut tens of millions of dollars of planned county spending. But that was just the beginning….

In August of 2011, the United States of America had it’s credit rating downgraded for the first time in history by S&P. It was shortly after this downgrade that another rating agency, Moody’s, took a hard look at Jefferson County. The result? Moody’s promptly upgraded Jefferson County’s credit rating.

Then in August of 2012 another rating agency examined Jeffco’s financial health. Fitch upheld Jeffco’s credit rating and reported, “Extensive financial planning and conservative management practices have contributed to the county’s solid financial operations.”

FACT: Jefferson County was the only government in Colorado to receive these two excellent report cards!

And just recently, Jeffco’s EXTERNAL auditor, Eide Bailly, came back with their report on Jefferson County. Their findings simply could not have been better! Jefferson County received an unqualified or “clean” opinion from Eide Bailly and the auditor went on to say, “This is the highest and best opinion an auditor can give.”

While many cities and other municipalities around the country find themselves in dire fiscal situations, strong leadership has kept Jefferson County fiscally sound! In order to maintain this responsible approach to government in Jefferson County, we need John Odom to be re-elected County Commissioner!

A contribution of $500, $100, $50, $10 or even $5 will go along way to re-elect John! You can contribute easily and conveniently, just click the link to our website below!  You can contribute with your credit card via paypal or mail a personal check!

This is the best possible messaging Odom could use, although there’s no question it’s a little late. Jefferson County’s credit rating was, in fact, upgraded by Moody’s and the county was given high marks by an external auditor.

John Odom isn’t solely responsible for Jeffco’s financial health — nor is any single commissioner, though all three claimed credit for it during a telephone town hall last week. That said, voters are willing to attribute a region’s economic outlook, good or bad, to those in office. This is one area where incumbency helps.

The “I helped strengthen our economy” talking point also enables Odom to campaign against President Obama. The commissioner can now piggy-back on Mitt Romney’s assertion that Republicans are better for the economy, and in Odom’s case, there’s at least anecdotal evidence to back that up. Most people have no idea who the commissioners are or what they do, so the more Odom can tie his star to the national campaign, the better. The same goes for Democrat Casey Tighe, but because he’s not an incumbent, he won’t be selected to introduce his party’s nominee, to use a recent example.

Odom’s now given good reason for voters to re-elect him, aside from the ol’ “I’m an incumbent Republican” line, and that’s a start.

It’s just odd that such a simple argument has taken so long to craft.