A former Lyon County Attorney and County Counselor wants to return to the courthouse, this time to serve as the county commissioner from District 2.
Philip Winter on Friday afternoon announced his intent to run as a Democrat for the seat currently held by Republican Marshall Miller. Winter was Lyon County attorney for two terms in the early 1970s, in addition to operating a private law practice and later serving as county counselor and trustee. He worked for the county for 34 years before semi-retiring three years ago.
Winter has named Trevor Rees as his campaign treasurer. Rees’ wife, Darlene, was secretary to the commission and its counselors, including Winter.
Winter received his bachelor’s degree from Emporia State Teachers College and his law degree from the Washburn School of Law. He has continued to practice law on a small scale and do some consulting.
“I do plan to keep my law license,” he remarked. “It took too much work to get it.”
As an almost-lifelong Lyon County resident, he attended school at Admire Grade School and was in the Class of 1961, the first to go all four years at the then-new Northern Heights High School building. His parents, Howard and Irma Harris Winter, were Lyon County natives; their son was born in the Finger Lakes area of New York state.
“Actually, I was born, due to the war, at a place called Samson Naval Base in New York,” Winter said, clarifying his background with an attorney’s precision.
After years of living in Emporia with his late wife, Rose Ann, Winter moved to a farm south of Admire shortly before he retired, and continues to own the house in the city. With that background, he said, he has an understanding of concerns of both city and rural residents.
He realizes that his candidacy coincides with a challenging financial time, as county officials try to anticipate the effects of Tyson’s downsizing on government revenues and find ways to compensate for potential losses. Nevertheless, he said he is ready to take up that challenge from a different viewpoint, rather than the advisory capacity he held as county counselor.
“There came a time, I suppose, when it kind of felt like after working all that time as county counselor and county attorney, it would be kind of nice to work making the original decisions,” Winter said of his candidacy. “The county counselor was, and still is, usually brought in at the end. I’m not sure that will ever change.”
He does not plan to advise the commission on legal matters.
“The county has a county counselor and an assistant county counselor, and I’m looking to them for the primary civil legal work,” he said.
Winter said that he brings no special interest to the campaign.
“I don’t think a county commissioner should be a one-issue person,” he said. “There’s too many issues that the county’s got to be aware of. You’ve got to look at all of them, not just one.”
He said that finances will be a major issue.
“I think if we can hold the budget level, then we will have accomplished a great deal,” he said. “Currently, the economy is going to be the primary concern we’re going to have to deal with.”
He looks at some expenses, such as maintenance, as necessities that need to be tended to, rather than pushed back into another budget year.
“I think it costs the county and the taxpayers more to rebuild than if you’ve done maintenance on it in the first place,” Winter said.
More information about Winter’s views on county needs and issues, as well as interviews with other candidates for elective offices, will appear as the primary election nears.
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Posted by jayhawker (anonymous) on March 22, 2008 at 5:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
We will be fortunate if Marshall Miller runs for another term in that we would have two very well qualified candidates and would be very well served by whomever won.
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