Dodge County Independant Questions

10/07/16

The Dodge County Independent had a two section questionnaire that was sent to the area candidates. Below are those questions and my answers to them

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 Part 1:

•    What party you represent :
Mayor is a non-partisan position; however, I am active in the Republican Party
•    Which office you are running for
Mayor, City of Mantorville
•    Whether you are an incumbent, and if so, how many terms served
I am currently running for my third term (2 year term) as mayor
•    Your email address where people can contact you MantorvilleMayor@GMail.com

Part 2:
1.    Why do you feel you are the best candidate for this position? I am a computer engineer by trade and I have learned how to apply critical thinking and analytical problem solving to complex situations. My experience as a project lead as well as my exposure to the political process gives me a broad experience level on which to examine new situations.

2.    Which is the main issue that you hope to change or retain during your upcoming term should you be elected? My first priority would be the completion of the WWTP. This plant is past its design life expectancy and Mantorville needs to switch over to our new system as soon as possible.

My second priority will be to continue our focus on lowering or freezing taxes. Housing values are finally starting to come back up, and our current plan is to grow revenue organically with the natural housing value increases, and not by raising rates.

3.    How are you going to get things done in a political climate of red tape and gridlock? The climate of red tape has slowed the WWTP down. The EPA and the MPCA were looking for different criteria in our connection plan. All parties are now on the same page and the permit has been grated. We break grown next summer.

4.    What do you want to accomplish in your term of office? A)    The city is still working with the Dodge County Trails Association to establish a trail through the city connection to a regional trail between Rochester and Owatonna.
B)    The City need to complete the construction of the new Waste Water Treatment project.
C)    Get finalized grant funding to help with the WWTP project.
D)    Establish a pattern of lower taxes and rate freezes.

5.    Why are you running for this particular position? I want to make my community better, position Mantorville in a strong position for survival and to leave a better world for my son Spencer than which I was raised in.

6.    Anything else you would like to add? I feel very blessed to have served as Mantorville’s Mayor for the past four years. The community has made significant progress since I was first elected to the City Council and we could not have accomplished this without the cooperation of the Citizens of Mantorville and the rest of the City Council members. I would like to thank all those individuals over the last four years that have helped the community either on the council, helped organize events like Marigold Days or served on one of our many sub-committees. Thank you all! I would also like to thank all those citizens that took time to come to a council meeting, write a letter or just picked up the phone to share a thought or concern we value your input as well. Remember the election is November 8th so please get out there and vote.