Berrien County Board of Commissioners Chair Mac Elliott started out the new year with a call for unity following divisive national and state elections in November.
Speaking at Thursday’s organizational meeting of the county board, Elliott said although Berrien County Commissioners do identify with their party when they run, in his 40 years of serving, he’s never known the board to be a partisan body.
“I don’t think at any time over the years when I’ve received a call from a constituent, they’ve said, ‘Hi, my name is John Smith or Jane Doe. I’m a Republican or I’m a Democrat,'” Elliott said. “They just have called because they had a question or they needed some help and and it had nothing to do with a party.”
Elliott said we’ve seen the trouble partisanship can cause in Washington and Lansing. Why allow the same to happen in Berrien County? He cited the Biblical verse, Matthew 5:12, which he said refers to peacemakers.
“The election’s over. It’s a new year. It’s a new board. I would say let’s be a board of 5:12.”
Elliott said some may regret things done during campaigning, and it’s not too late for everyone to admit their mistakes and forgive. He told commissioners their job should be focused on serving people, and not a party.
