Letter: Changing political parties prior to seeking office ‘invites lots of questions’

To The Editor:

As a long time member of the Republican Party, I am concerned and a little confused that one of the candidates for Nelson County Judge-Executive, Billy Gentry, recently changed his party registration from Democrat to Republican.

This was done only days before registering to run in the Republican Primary. I feel that anyone running in a primary for any party should be a member of that party for an appropriate time, preferably several years, prior to seeking election in that party’s primary. This would give that person time to attend party meetings, get the feel of the voters and make sure they are one of the best candidates for the job. They could speak with the voters that attend the meetings and answer their questions. Voters should be able to feel the person they choose to represent them shares the positions and philosophy of their party. It should be based not just from speeches given during a campaign but also based on previous political activity.

I know the election laws allow anyone to change parties, but this is normally for voting purposes. Some well-known national candidates have changed parties over the years, but they did it years before running for office and were well established within their new party,

Changing parties just prior to running for office invites lots of questions.

Jim Green
Coxs Creek

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