Dan McDonald

1. I have a long track record of service to the community and felt my skills learned in business and ability to manage large groups of people would prove to be helpful in providing the services needed by county residents from county government

2. I don’t have political experience, my experience is in efficiently running large businesses. The county is basically a $55 million corporation with over 300 employees. My experience matches up perfectly for managing an organization of this size. I am also a creative problem solver that listens to all sides of a position before forming an opinion. I place a high value on honesty and integrity and will bring those values to the office of commissioner.

3. We are finally beginning to move in the right direction after the damage done by the Comprehensive Plan and supporting ordinances that have taken away property rights, increased unemployment in the county and hindered business growth.

4. I would implement aspects of sustainable design in every aspect of county operations. Sustainable design includes looking at best value via life cycle which reduces waste and increases value.

5. I would create evening meetings for the public to attend and provide input whenever we have big issues that need to be addressed. Transparency and public input are important in all levels of government but even more so at the local level.

6. I think there is room for better efficiency and cross training within departments to assure the county can properly provide the services the residents of the county pay for and at the best cost to the taxpayer.

7. Conflict resolution, budgeting, efficiency, being able to dissect complex problems and find creative solutions. I use logic over emotion and can quickly boil down issues to find the best solution.

8. At first reporting I was concerned regarding the terminations at P&Z however, after meeting with the commissioners, hearing the complaints of the county residents and many of my campaign stops and understanding the extensive process used by the commissioners before reaching the decision to terminate, I now have a better understanding of the justifications for the terminations.

9. If elected, I will continue to spend time at the county office as I have for the last six months, learning the job so that I can start knowing the ropes and ready to go to work for the residents of the county.

10. Unemployment, business development, affordable housing. All of these can be traced back to the failure to see the problems with the adoption of the comprehensive plan and it’s ordinances. I will continue to work with the other commissioners to rewrite the poorly worded comp plan to fit our county and create conditions for job creation, wage increases and responsible development.

11. Experience. After meeting with a number of residents and businesses, the biggest complaint is we tend to elect commissioners that don’t have the kind of experience to run an organization of this size. I have that experience.

12. The only criticism I’ve heard is my support for the facts in the P&Z terminations. While rumors abound and most folks only know one side of the story, my support for the truth and facts of this issue have drawn some criticism. It’s not that I’m supporting the current commissioners so much as I’m supporting the truth over the salacious rumors and one sided accusations.

13. My qualifications, my ability to manage large groups of people, my track record for well thought out decisions and positions … sorry that’s three things.

14. Do you have the experience and expertise to run a $55 million organization with over 300 employees that exists to provide services for county residents? I have exactly that kind of experience and a track record of success.