Ed Fitzgerald: Hodges exhibits the traits that make an excellent county commissioner

To The Daily Sun,

I worked extensively and closely with Steve Hodges when he was sheriff and I was the Belknap County attorney. Steve always acted with thoughtfulness and professionalism in fulfilling his duties. As county attorney, I conducted labor negotiations with the employee bargaining units. When discussing negotiation positions for the sheriff's department with Steve, he always zealously advocated for his employees without forgetting the realities of the impact on county taxpayers.

Because both our departments in the county were involved in law enforcement, Steve and I frequently met to discuss our budgets and to ensure that we were not requesting overlapping services. Likewise, we went to many county delegation meetings together to explain our budget requests. Once again, Steve was always prepared to defend his appropriation request while understanding the tax implications of same.

I have not seen Steve in nearly 16 years, and he did not solicit this letter, but it is my opinion he has the necessary skills and character traits to be an excellent county commissioner.

Ed Fitzgerald

Fort Myers, Florida