MOUNT VERNON – Roger Munday says he chose to run for a seat on the Knox County Commission to break up the Republican Party’s monopoly and add a voice in county government.
Munday was the sole Democrat to file for the County Commissioner’s seat. Incumbent Bill Pursel, a Republican, is running for reelection and also faces no opposition in the May 3 primary. The four-year term begins Jan. 1, 2023, and ends Dec. 31, 2026.
“I'm not a politician. But we need more than one voice in our government, Knox County, right now. It's a party monopoly of Republicans only,” Munday told the Mount Vernon News.
Democrats don’t tend to run for the county office, or not very often, he said.
“I feel that we need to get more than one voice in our government because one voice leads to tunnel vision, doesn't express everyone's policies, and it can also lead to corruption,” Munday said. “And my initial running is spurred on by the federal government, and all the unusual behaviors that's going on there.”
He wants to adopt the issues that county residents have. So he’s asked that they share their concerns and interests with him via email at VoteforMundayonTuesday@gmail.com.
Some residents have expressed concerns about a homeless community and linked it to drug issues, Munday said. He supports the Knox County Active Transportation Plan.
He also wants the Knox County Commission to meet at night once a month. Meetings now are during the day, when most people cannot attend because they are working.
“I feel that it would be better if they would have an evening public meeting (where) the public can go ahead and express their concerns,” Munday said.
Having a night meeting would enable the public to see what the commissioners are doing and where their tax money goes.
“People should be more involved, or people should least know more what they do,” he said.
Republicans in the country are moving toward a more authoritarian government that Munday said he believes is not the way the U.S. is supposed to be. He thinks the country is moving away from a republic, a representative democracy.
For those asking why he’s running in this race when he’s talking about federal politics, he has a simple answer.
“Well, all politics starts at home. So if I can run for local, I can get my voice heard here,” Munday said.
Knox County is a conservative, Republican community, Munday said, but it has a number of independent voters.
According to the Knox County Board of Elections, the number of registered voters by political party is Republican, 7,291; Democrat, 2,824; Libertarian, 18; Socialist, 1; and no affiliation, 31,496.
“So it's what the independents want. The independents need to decide what they're more interested in,” he said.
Munday earned his professional background in private-sector health insurance, serving as vice president of a third-party administrator in Dublin.
