Letter to the Editor: Re-Elect Thompson

Dear Editor,

A few years ago, Ken Popenhagen, former Benton County Sheriff, stopped by my farm for a visit and it lasted over three hours. We talked about everything from A to Z, and of course we talked about politics. The name David Thompson came up. Ken, a Republican, told me that he and two or three other law enforcement officers around the county (you know who you are) were unhappy about the job performance of then county attorney, Ray Lough in the 1990’s. They convinced a young Democrat, David Thompson, who at the time was practicing law in Vinton to run for county attorney opposing Ray Lough. Thompson easily won the election.

When Don Frese and I were elected as county supervisors in 2013 we INHERITED a virtual bankrupt county landfill, mismanaged by Benton County. With input from many concerned citizens, with the help of Jennifer Fencl from ECICOG and the leadership and legal advice from David Thompson a new Landfill Commission was formed to be run by 21 Benton County citizens or commissioners from around the county. David made the final needed changes to the new “by-laws” before it was approved. The landfill is now solvent and in excellent financial condition! David Thompson – a leader.

At that same time, David started a “court debt” collection agency. He now has collected about two million dollars that has been added to the Benton County budget, over four million dollars to the state, and almost a million dollars to victim restitution. David is the only County Attorney in the state doing this. David Thompson –an Innovator.

I was asked to sit in on the hiring of a new Veterans Affair director. It was a half-time position and the office space was minimal. David later asked me about the hiring and suggested we make the Veterans Director a full time position and move them to a more accessible office space. I agreed and the board approved his request. David also led a small group to honor the late sheriff, Leland (Sam) Fry, who was killed in the line of duty. A memorial was placed in his honor in the courthouse. David Thompson –A supporter of Veterans and Law Enforcement.

After a small group led an effort to restore the Benton County courthouse clock, David wrote the grant applications. He received a total of over $44,000. Over $34,000 from the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, $9,000 from the Benton County Community Foundation and $1,000 from the Vinton Community Trust Foundation. That money, plus donations from citizens, put the money needed for the restoration well over the needed amount to restore the clock. David Thompson –Grant Writer

David and I haven’t always agreed and at one time or another were probably not on each other’s Christmas card list! But it is not about us. It is about Benton County citizens electing a county attorney that is a leader, innovator, supporter of veterans and law enforcement and a prosecutor. He has successfully prosecuted over 100 sex abuse cases involving child victims, along with many other criminal cases. So if we all obey the laws we won’t have to keep looking in the rear view mirror to see if David is chasing us! David Thompson --Prosecutor

I and my wife, Judi, are asking you to join us in voting to re-elect David Thompson for Benton County attorney.

Terry Hertle

Former County Supervisor

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DS October 22, 2022, 2:28 pm So he got $44,000 to fix the clocks on the courthouse, the public would like to know where the hands are so we know what time it is. Maybe he can use his legal expertise to get the clocks fixed.

MR October 22, 2022, 2:00 pm Oooops, Mr. Hertle had issues working with Dave Thompson from 2013-2017 not the 1990’s. Either way he had issues while working with Dave Thompson, correct? Are all those collections staying in Benton County? Are any of those dollars from other counties? Just curious

RS October 21, 2022, 7:24 pm Correction to Melissa’s entry. Terry was Supervisor from 2013-2017 not the 1990’s. The new Landfill Commission was formed during that time. The collections program for fines and restitution was established around 2014 and continues today. This program has provided Benton County an additional $1.8 million in revenue providing tax relief to Benton County taxpayers. Dave has a long history of prosecuting cases with successful results all during his tenure and will continue to do so in the future. If you want to know what Dave thinks about now and the future, please read what he wrote for a candidate profile in the Vinton Today on October 6th. Below is his thoughts. “Areas of concern and development in the next four years: If re-elected, it is my intention to continue to win the cases our citizens expect their County Attorney's Office to win. I will continue to seek training for myself and the staff because we want to be the best attorneys in the courtroom and never want to be complacent. We have excellent staff in the office, and it is my goal to retain this talented group of people. If re-elected we will continue to strive to keep Benton County safe from the perils of civil liability and will continue to keep the County compliant with the law and following proper procedures. We will continue to modernize our office to keep up with the latest technology that helps us effectively do our jobs. We will never stop working to improve our victim outreach services and will continue to advocate and stand up for the victims of crime. We will continue to work to aid those with mental health and substance abuse issues and will aid in the implementation of beneficial services for those individuals. Likewise, we will continue to work with our Opioid Task Force to implement the opioid settlement funds in an effort to combat the fentanyl problem in Benton County.”

LG October 21, 2022, 5:27 pm Thank you Melissa Roster! All I can say from our own experience with Mr. Thompson and Mr. Hertle, both have been a huge disappointment to us on different occassions!

MR October 20, 2022, 8:02 pm You’re not fooling anyone. Could we please focus on the year 2022 and not the 90’s. You clearly had issues with Mr. Thompson when you worked with him in the “90’s.” Do you think anything has changed? I would like the county to focus on issues that are taking place NOW. If things were so great in Benton County then why did residents of the county reach out to Mr. Lough? Have you asked ALL law enforcement how they feel about the county attorney or just your friends?? Just curious.

Opinion : Letter to the Editor: Re-Elect Thompson

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