Howerton was best kind of leader

Letter to the Editor:

In 2006, voters in the Osage area elected John Howerton as justice of the peace. He made clear from the start that he would defend the county’s tradition of property rights. Other than that, John mostly listened and learned. As his 18-year tenure on the quorum court unfolded, John began to take more and more of a leadership role on the court.

He became the best kind of leader. An occasional visitor to quorum court meetings might not even notice him, because John would often wait until the end of a discussion to offer his opinion. If someone else had already raised a similar point, John wouldn’t speak just for the sake of speaking. When he entered a discussion, we never saw him belittle another JP’s position. He would simply explain his reasoning, and then step back again.

John has taken a prominent role in efforts to construct a new courtroom facility for the county’s Eastern District. His work with the Carroll County Airport has greatly improved communications between the quorum court and the airport. This may not sound like a big deal, but 10 years ago, the quorum court had a wretched relationship with the airport commission. Since John began serving as liaison with the airport, everything works more smoothly, and the county’s subsidies to the airport have been cut in half.

When the issue of wind turbines came up in mid-2023, John didn’t like the idea, but his commitment to property rights outweighed his personal objections. Caroline Rogers, who often spoke at quorum court meetings to ask for restrictions on the wind turbines, decided to challenge John in the November election. She won, with 60 percent of the vote. Her supporters described this as a mandate against wind turbines, but the numbers suggest otherwise. In this highly Republican area of a highly Republican county, 83 percent of voters voted for Trump, but many of those voters split their ballot to vote for John, who was registered as a Democrat.

Caroline mounted an excellent election campaign, and she has come to quorum court meetings well prepared. She’ll have big shoes to fill. John served District 11, but he also served the entire county. Other JPs have already cautioned Caroline that until now, she has only heard from those who agree with her. Now she’ll hear from the full spectrum of Carroll County people, many of whom still draw a hard line against any restrictions on property rights.

— Mike Ellis