New Harmony Gazette Publisher runs for Posey County Commissioner

Dan Barton of the New Harmony Gazette

​Once in a while, someone I admire personally and professionally runs for public office. As of recently, Dan Barton, publisher of the New-Harmony Gazette is one of them. We’ve been friends and colleagues for a few years now. From the beginning I’ve appreciated his passion for freedom and the remembrance that government officials are to represent and work for the people, rather than the other way around.

I’ve been a fan of the New-Harmony Gazette nearly since he resurrected it a few years ago. It has already surpassed the longevity of its initial publication lifespan. 

​This superb little newspaper, under the direction of Dan Barton and his associated editor and columnist, Ann Rains of RainsWriter,  continues to gain in readership popularity. It doesn’t just serve up news to New Harmony citizenry, but many copies are emailed and snail-mailed to folks far and near who have personal and professional interest in the happenings in this much loved, historically significant village that attracts visitors yearly from within US borders and abroad.

Dan Barton has been doggedly determined at pressing and pushing to do whatever can be done to help the village survive, thrive and consistently enhance the lives and businesses of its residents and guests. Home is where the heart is, and Dan’s is dedicated to New Harmony.

Not long ago, Dan announced that he is officially running for public office as a candidate for Posey County Commissioner, District 2.

He chose this course of action after realizing the County’s vision for infrastructure support was not reaching some of the smaller towns, such as New Harmony. He cited the failure of the Posey County Commission to stand by its 2014 vote to take title to the abandoned Harmony Way Bridge as one blatant example of the lack of commitment by the County Commission to all of the smaller towns in Posey County.

​The Indiana Route 66 corridor is an integral part of the Posey County economy that connects towns of Illinois like Crossville, Carmi and Grayville with our Indiana towns like New Harmony, Wadesville, Blairsville and all the way to Evansville. Dan understands that these towns as one interconnected community.

In 2012 the Harmony Way Bridge was closed and it immediately cut off access to Indiana for 300,000 vehicles a year that crossed the bridge and used Indiana 66 as an everyday and weekend thoroughfare. He estimates that Indiana and the Harmony Way Bridge potentially lost over a million dollars a year because of County inaction, or over seven million dollars in the total in the seven years it’s been closed.

He aims to promote open government and sharing accurate facts with citizens about how decisions for spending their tax money are made. “Transparency in County government is vital for citizens to be able to fully participate in the decision making process. It’s better that too much information regarding the details of a county project are released to the public than too little.” 

“I will make it a point to bring the true facts to the decision making process and bring those facts before the public, as I have done in the newspaper I publish, The New Harmony-Gazette. More than once over the past four years Commissioners have released inaccurate information to the public on potentially beneficial public projects, without being able to support the information in question. I will not be a part of that disinformation process. When elected we work for the people of Posey County and not for special interests.”

Dan added, “If elected I will dedicate myself to making only fact based decisions that make sense by the numbers and I will work hard to insure that the doors of government are opened wide for the citizens to see, hear and participate in those decisions.” ​

In the know...

​What he said in this release is sincerely what he believes and practices. Where the rubber meets the road, Dan’s the real deal. He doesn’t have a big-corp price tag, but instead has a big love for freedom--his own, his friends, family, colleagues and all of their generations to come.

I’ve admired and respected his past work as a US military veteran, a voice and investor in the independent business community and his consistent dedication to providing sincerely accurate journalism to his community.

You rock, Dan Barton and I’m thrilled to see someone with integrity and a passion for freedom running for office in Posey County.