NEWS

Travis discusses her qualifications for council service Herald-Times Report October 20, 2004 Democratic Monroe County Council candidate Sophia Travis defended her qualifications for council service Tuesday. In a campaign release, she argued her background of supporting social services makes her eminently qualified. "Social services are the biggest thing that Monroe County government does," she said of the nearly $14 million of the county's $46 million budget that falls into that broad category. "The second largest is the administration of justice. A candidate's qualifications in these two areas are critical." Travis said some council candidates are framing the issue of qualifications in overly narrow terms of financial expertise. She challenged what she called "a myopic obsession" with the accounting phase of the budgeting process. "A budget isn't a spreadsheet, it's not a payroll, it's not business expenses," she said. "You can't make tough decisions without knowing your subject material." She said some council candidates "can't evaluate the worth of our largest programs because they know nothing about them. How then, can they budget them?" Travis cited her decades-long involvement in area social services as evidence of her qualifications. She said among others, these include her annual fund-raiser for Project Safe Place, her membership in The Friday Musicale philanthropic association, and her annual charity performances at the county jail. "My work gives me an 'aerial' view of our community and, especially, how our social services are allocated and managed," she said. "Understanding the subject matter is crucial if you're going to make sound decisions on how to allocate and spend over a quarter of the county's annual budget. "Anyone can know price, but only experience can determine value," she said. "I have that experience."