In a recent column, George Smith said that we don’t need counties. He urges that we get rid of them, and he tells us to trust his judgment because he is “a former county commissioner who knows a lot about county government.” (“Good riddance to counties,” Nov. 23).

Smith makes the following rather astounding and absurd claim in his column: “All of the duties of county government could easily be transferred to the state, with a lot of efficiencies.”

On the basis of that remark, I would have to ask Smith whether he knows what county he lives in and what state he lives in. Perhaps his assertion was somewhat relevant to the Kennebec County of well over 20 years ago, when he served as a county commissioner, and to the Maine state government at that time, but it surely is not at all credible today.

We in Maine today live in a dysfunctional state where our government is strongly affected by the incompetence and serial malfeasance of the governor and his commissioners. We have a governor incapable or unwilling to govern. He insists that his inaccurate and idiosyncratic interpretations of the state constitution and of Maine laws are correct, and he has demonstrated an inability to work with the Legislature, or even with many of the members of his own party. I believe that Smith would be in a very small minority of observers of the Maine political scene who would describe our state government as efficient, effective or in any way satisfactory.

On the other hand, Smith accurately states: “And I’ll bet you know little to nothing about your county government. Quick, tell me who your three county commissioners are. Do you know what they do?”

This failure to communicate to the residents of Kennebec County what the county government does is part of the problem. Our commission, with Chairwoman Nancy Rines, of Gardiner, Patsy Crockett, of Augusta, and George Jabar, of Waterville, have been far too modest or reluctant to toot their own horn. If county residents knew, they would take pride as I do in the fact that Kennebec County has one of the best county governments in the state. They would know that the county commissioners working with our outstanding county administrator, Robert Devlin, to manage affairs with efficiency and effectiveness, in stark contrast to the innumerable failings of the LePage administration.

Smith ignorantly asserts, “We don’t need probate courts and deed registries in every county.” I strongly disagree. County probate courts are, of course, stipulated in the state constitution, and our probate judges deal with the lives of members of our community at critical times in their lives. It is important that these matters be dealt with compassion and understanding, and in a timely fashion.

We in Kennebec County were privileged to have had Jim Mitchell as our probate judge for the last 37 years. He is generally recognized to be the model of a good and understanding judge of probate in Maine, and he literally wrote the book on how probate courts should operate here. His wife, Libby Mitchell, assisted in editing the book and was just elected to carry on his work. I submit that one size does not fit all, and the nature of probate work is very different in Aroostook and York counties because the nature of the economies and communities are different. Consolidating all probate work into a state court would be a serious mistake and would result in poorer quality and long delays.

Similarly, Smith’s reference to deed registries simply indicates that he is ignorant of the remarkable work that the Kennebec County Registrar of Deeds, Beverly Bustin-Hatheway, has done, and I would invite him to visit the new Registry of Deeds she has set up on Winthrop Street in Augusta. Again, she has been a pioneer and model for all of Maine. Without her efforts, what is available online would not be there.

Louis T. Sigel lives in Gardiner.