From Cerro Gordo County Supervisor candidate Doug Nelson of Clear Lake:
I want to thank North Iowa Today for being a resource in our community. Without multiple sources for the public to hear and respond to community events, our society will suffer. I am grateful for the opportunity to use this resource to make a short explanation of my background and some of my views.
The primary election is Tuesday, June 3. Typically, there is a low turn out for this election. Your vote will help determine who represents you this fall.
I ask that you vote and make a difference. If you are registered as an independent, you can still vote in the primary by showing your ID and asking for the party ballot of your choice. I am on the Democratic Party ballot.
I believe that I am the best candidate for Supervisor. I have been learning the job over the past 8 years, attending Supervisor meetings and workshops as well as attending city council meetings. I have no interest in making the position partisan, my interest is to improve the quality of life for all and encourage more people and jobs to make Cerro Gordo their home.
District 2 is the most rural of the districts in the county and I am the only candidate running who lives in an unincorporated area, dealing daily with the problems which are administered by the supervisors. I own my own business farming the land on which I grew up. I’ve planted a crop here for 34 years, starting out helping my father, Jim Nelson. I’m married to Maria Montoya, a Marine of 8 years and now an IT professional. We have 4 adult children and a granddaughter. I’ve worked in factories, as a mechanic, in retail, and even as an airport fuel jockey. My experiences have led me to develop leadership and mediation skills, which I’ve used to benefit a state-wide non-profit, Toastmasters International. I believe my life experiences can help me to understand and relate to your problems and help me to best represent you.
I don’t believe in using taxpayer dollars as a frequent incentive in an attempt to buy jobs. There may be a place for it, but if we are going to give money away through forgivable loans and tax rebates or prebates, let’s first look to the businesses already here and paying taxes. Let’s do what we can to introduce our workers to opportunities using an exceptional internet system to create work-from-home jobs and entrepreneurial start-ups. Let’s first spend at home before we risk giving incentives to companies who will move on as soon as the incentive expires.
I think that much can be done to improve our quality of life without spending more net taxes. Part of this equation would be to actually do all we can to reduce our taxation rates as assessments continue to rise. Automatic pay increases matching our rise in assessments is not leadership, it’s coasting. I think it’s time to fight for every tax dollar spent and prove that it’s an investment worth making, one that will return more than it cost.
As a symbol of my willingness to reduce spending growth, I will take action to decouple the pay of the supervisors from the rest of the county employees and hold the pay steady until it represents similar pay of other counties with our population. We are currently paying the 5th highest pay while being the 13th largest county. This change would give incentive to growing the population instead of the salaries of our supervisors.
I have no interest in any other political office. I’ve been working to become Supervisor for 8 years. This isn’t a stepping stone, it’s my goal. I have no interest in appointing cronies or contributors. My only political debt will be to all of the people of the county that elected me, regardless of party or district.
I say these things not to make promises, but to lay out who I am and what I intend.
Share this with your friends and family. Your support is appreciated and will make a difference.
Whether you support my candidacy or that of another, the most important message is to vote on Tuesday.
Thank you!
