‘Governing on the Ground: The Past, Present, and Future of Country Government’ is a collection of personal anecdotes from government officials across the country on the issues that they focus on fighting against in their counties. Published this year, it covers issues from health, human services, public safety, the environment and land uses, communication and economics, transportation, and technology.

The book brings to attention so many personal stories of different elected officials — supervisors, board members, commissioners, district attorneys, even a coroner — and why they worked to be in their position, as well as the help they are striving to give to their community.

This book highlights the importance of paying attention to your community and the issues that it has to deal with, as well as the importance of watching the smaller elections along with the larger national ones. So many of the people in this book found themselves running for office because they saw a problem that wasn’t being solved and decided that they would take up the challenge.

Take, for example, Board President Toni Preckwinkle of Cook County, Illinois. Ms. Preckwinkle had been a history teacher for decades and had seen multiple students who were killed in drive-bys. When she was elected to the board of commissioners, it was declared violence, specifically gun violence, was a health crisis for the county that needed to be addressed. In the 13 years that she has been on the board, Cook County has worked to address public health and safety, as well as trying to prevent the behaviors that lead to gun violence in the first place by reducing recidivism.

You can also look at our local Commissioner Mary Ann Borgeson of Douglas County, and her focus on elder care. Her mother had developed Alzheimer's, and her father and husband both had been fighting cancer, and Borgeson had to step up and help all three of them while also working as a county commissioner. Over the last few decades, Borgeson has made it her priority to improve elder care in Douglas County, as well as make it easier for older people to stay in their own homes as they age and slow down instead of needing a retirement home.

These are just two of the stories of people across the country seeing an issue and fighting for it. This book brings to light the needs and struggles of people all across America and shows why we can’t just put our heads in the sand for problems. It is a worthwhile read that is both touching and informative, and I fully recommend it.

National Associaton of Counties: https://www.naco.org/page/governing-ground