Dear Editor: When Oden first came into office, on his first day, he said he was to be called CEO Chairman Richard Oden. He has never let up since about being the CEO of Rockdale County. This does not come from me or the trouble makers that CEO Oden keeps talking about. This is straight from his mouth.

Who is a CEO? This is a person who owns or runs a company large or small. This person has the power to hire or fire the people at will. Oden has been following this to the letter. The first year he removed many long-term employees who worked and lived in the county most of their lives. He only slowed down when one person finally stood up and filed a lawsuit against him.

I want to talk about what a monarchy is. It is a government run by a CEO. Many small countries in the Middle East are controlled by a CEO (monarch). They have the power to hire and fire anyone in the country at will. He runs the country how he wants and controls the people as he sees fit. The CEO (monarch) builds a small group of people around him and treats them very well. Next he takes control of the law. He also convinces one ethnic group that they are superior and treats them better than any other group. This gives him control, and in many cases if any one group starts to rise up against him, he just wipes them out. This has worked for years, but now they have a problem, the internet. Now the whole world knows what the CEOs are doing, and they can't hide it from the world. This is how Cuba has been run for over 30 years.

Ever since Oden came into office Oden and Nesbitt have been hard at work trying to make the sheriff look bad. Only Van Ness has continually supported the sheriff. You might ask why Oden would do that. Well he has answered this question himself. He is now bringing his handpicked new sheriff with him to many of his pep rallies. Once he can get his small group of people to put his hand-picked sheriff in, then he will have completed his little monarchy.

I would like to know why the Democrats do not believe in voting in the primaries. There was a 15 percent turnout in the primary that put Oden and Nesbitt in office. That means that as little as 8 percent of the Democrats can put this CEO (monarch) in total control next election. Democrats do have a choice. When Oden comes to the local groups and gives them his vision of his great society, why don't they ask Brian Jenkins and Josie Dean to come out and give them some options? There are many Democrats who are educated, live in nice homes and moved here within the last ten years for a better place to live. Democrats wake up, study the issues and get out and vote before this county becomes another East Lake or Kirkwood like in DeKalb County.

One footnote - there was at one time in our history, a law that if the people wanted someone to serve in public office and they refused, they could be jailed. These men knew they were expected to be servants, not CEOs, and many good men did not want to be a servant. Rockdale badly needs a good servant, Republican or Democrat.

If we are ever able to make this second smallest county in Georgia a safe blended place to raise our children, free of gangs and drugs, we must do better who we vote in office.

Ray Webb
Rockdale County