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Camacho seeking Cedar Creek seat on board of supervisors
BY CHARLES GARRATT • STAFF WRITER
 | | John A. Camacho Jr. |
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ROUTIER HILL - John A. Camacho Jr. turned 18 on Sept. 26, meeting the qualifications to run as a candidate for the board of supervisors in the Cedar Creek District.
While incumbents run on the benefits of experience, Camacho counts his passion for politics and new perspective as his major assets. He may be the only candidate with his own political web site: www.johnnycamacho.com.
"Give me a chance. I'm not a traditional candidate," said Camacho. All he asks of the voters in the district is to listen to what he is saying. He wants people to find their own reasons to vote for him rather than him telling them why they should vote for him.
In a three-way race (incumbent Percy Nowlin, Carl Chestnut and Camacho) in a district with fewer than 700 registered voters, Camacho realizes he faces an uphill battle. Chestnut will get most of the support from voters disenchanted with Nowlin, he said, but he feels that on closer inspection, voters will see he is a more sensible choice.
He wants people to call him, anytime. "Ask me questions," he said. "I'll give the most honest answers I can." And he is looking for opinions and information. On issues he might no be familiar with, he says he will ask constituents to fill him in.
Camacho characterizes himself as more of a Gandhi-type leader rather than a Napoleon. He believes in teamwork as opposed to an authoritarian style of leadership. "I want to work for the citizens of the county," he said.
While Camacho doesn't want to see Bath County "frozen in time," he also doesn't want to see mass development. "I like responsible development." Modernization and technological growth are beneficial everywhere, he believes. "We are sort of that buried treasure," Camacho said. "We are lucky to live in a place as untouched as this." He believes the government must step in and say "we can only take so much development."
On the issue of commercial wind generation in the county, Camacho admits to facing a quandary. On a personal level, he likes the use of wind energy. "Wind and solar have always been with us. I love the concept," he said. "Is it appropriate here?" he asks rhetorically. Before he could vote for commercial wind generation facili- ties in the county, he said, "I would have to make sure a majority of my constituents were behind it." He suggests Bath County should be making studies to determine if wind generation is appropriate.
Regarding horses in residential neighborhoods, Camacho is more adamant. "Leave the horse alone," he said. He considers horses to be pets and feels the county should allow them in residential districts on a case by case basis.
In the short amount of time Camacho has been involved with politics, he has learned a lot about the basics of local, state and federal government. He is familiar with the conflict of interest rules and supportive of citizens' right to access to government documents and proceedings.
He believes the public having access to the workings of government is beneficial to good government. Closed meetings, he said, "should never be used as a tool to keep the public away from what their government is talking about."
The budget is the "question of the day," said Camacho. He thinks supervisors should take a careful look at the budget. "Do we really need these?" The county should provide essential services- safety, security and education.
The current budget is tight, according to Camacho, though he admits he hasn't examined it line by line. "There isn't a tremendous amount of pork." Whenever possible, Camacho said he believes in cutting expenditures before raising taxes.
People can perceive him as being lazy, Camacho said, because he is calm and easygoing. This can be a weakness in a supervisor, he notes. And he can get "very, very frustrated when things don't happen" the way he believes they should. He said he is working on being patient.
Camacho said he will continue to study the issues and talk to people if he is elected. He pledges to analyze both sides of issues and will go into the job of supervisor relying on the people in the district.
"What do you want me to do? Instead of, this is what I will do," he said will be the way he will govern if elected.
About the candidate John A. Camacho Jr., 18 Student, Dabney S. Lancaster Community College. Bath schools through grade 9, home schooled through high school level Web site and blog at: www.johnny camacho.com Active in the local Democratic party
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