County Commissioner Questionnaires

The two candidates for the office of Lake County Commissioner were issued the same questionnaire as the Justice of the Peace challengers:

1. Why are you running for a seat in your local government?

2. What is your previous experience with local or state government?

3. What do you hope to accomplish if you are elected?

Their responses are listed below.

Gale Decker

Ronan

Republican Party

1. I believe that I can help Lake County better serve our citizens.  I also want a county where our young people can afford to live.  I have been blessed to live and work here, and I want the same opportunities for future generations of county residents.

2. I have been elected to two terms as Lake County Superintendent of Schools.  My experience with school budgets, school boards, and supervision of school staffs would be beneficial if elected County Commissioner.

3. All of our governmental entities, from national to local levels, are facing difficult times, especially from an economic standpoint.  If elected, I would like to see Lake County put on solid financial footing and providing only those county services that can be afforded.  

I would like to see a review of the Lake County Growth Policy and Density Map.  These documents were adopted with a timetable for review that has not been followed.  The review process for permits and variances granted by the Planning Department and Environmental Health must be streamlined.  At present, it takes too long for builders and contractors to get approval from the county to begin work.

John Swenson

Ronan

Libertarian Party

1. I believe local government is out of control. I believe the previous administration has overspent and overstepped the bounds of their office. I believe that our local government has been lured and seduced by mega-outside influences and have allowed their offices to be hijacked by programs and ideals that have exceeded the limits imposed on their office. I believe the existing administration governs from the ideology of communitarianism and not from the ideology of individualism. They ignore man’s inherent rights.

2. My previous experience with state and local government is similar to most that live in Lake County. My experience is that state and local government has become one of the primary impediments to entry into the free market.  They have become the most destructive force to free enterprise. I believe that local government has preferred a population who is not self sufficient but rather dependent on the privileges and immunities granted by government. I am proud to say that I never before received a government paycheck.

3. I will stand up for the inherent rights of men and women in Lake County. I will not be bent by the latest, greatest programs brought in from external sources. Programs that have as their design to take away individual rights and deliver those rights to the community will get a NO vote.  I will seek to streamline the land planning process. I will eliminate the Lake County Growth Policy. I will be a fiscal conservative and control spending.