20030209 Carroll County Times editorial: Frank Johnson – “A problem of wearing many hats”

20030209 Carroll County Times editorial: Frank Johnson – “A problem of wearing many hats”

Carroll County Times editorial: Frank Johnson – “A problem of wearing many hats”

Editorial for Feb. 9, 2003
February 09, 2003

A problem of wearing many hats

Mount Airy Town Councilman Frank Johnson has been wearing a lot of different hats lately, but the time has come for him to step back and make some realistic decisions about where he believes he can do the most good.

The councilman was instrumental in rallying support and bringing together a Council of Governments in Carroll at a time when communication between the county office building and Carroll's municipalities was sorely lacking. He remains a vocal advocate and is actively involved as the organization gets up and running.

(Webmaster’s note: The idea that Mr. Johnson “was instrumental in rallying support and bringing together a Council of Governments in Carroll” is not consistent with how many of us remember it. See: 20020822 “Mayors consider an area council” By Mary Gail Hare, Sun Staff)

Johnson also took a job as assistant to County Commissioner Julia Walsh Gouge. And while he and others have said there is nothing legally wrong with collecting paychecks from both the Town of Mount Airy and the county, there likely is an ethical issue involved.

That issue is compounded by Johnson's other involvement in Mount Airy, where he serves as zoning administrator and is the council's liaison to the planning commission.

At the very least, Johnson has spread himself too thin to be entirely effective in any one of the positions. And because his many positions span from Mount Airy to Carroll's municipalities to county government, that means the impact is being felt everywhere in the county.

Johnson owes it to the people of Mount Airy, owes it to the towns, cities and organizations that make up the Council of Governments and owes it to taxpayers who pay his salary as Gouge's assistant to step back from some of these responsibilities.

He must assess where he believes he can be most effective, and then concentrate on those areas.

Wanting to help out in as many different ways as possible is an admirable trait, but it does no good if the person is running in so many different directions that it takes away from all of his various jobs and duties.

20030209 Carroll County Times editorial: Frank Johnson – “A problem of wearing many hats”

Labels: People Carroll Co. Johnson – Frank Johnson, People Carroll County