Saturday, April 3, 2010

More Legwork

Asked my son Jason to do some legwork for me, checking out some of the county candidate websites. Here is the summary he provided me:

unless noted candidacy was filed 3/12/2010

County Assessor
James Ivie- Republican incumbent, does not mention how long he has held this office so we'll assume 4 years. Claims to have kept property taxes stable from year to year. Has many appraisal awards including senior residential appraiser. History of service and being an active member of his community, notable examples four and a half years in the marines and he is block captain with emergency preparedness training. Overall seems a good candidate and has 28 years experience doing what this office requires.

Dennis Yarrington- Republican, implies property tax rate could be more stable and perhaps less. Has senior residential appraiser award and MAI professional designation, also nearly 30 years experience in appraisal. Has a history of a large amount of service in his community, notable examples are 20+ years scout leadership and 6 years in the air national guard reach the rank of staff sergeant. Overall "seems" to have more experience and service, experience is not limited to just the state of Utah.
County Attorney

County Attorney
Troy Rawlings- Republican incumbent, received an award for best county attorney in utah 2009. Actually has a site with a large amount of information. Has goals of greater fairness in courts including mental health courts. The $351,261.45+ he claims to have saved is over 3 years and was apparently caused by better procedures, regular budgetary review, and a prison program that allows inmates to pay back to society. Overall appears to be a good candidate (especially compared to Robert) and since the only other candidate is libertarian he seems to be running unopposed.
County Clerk/Auditor

Steve Rawlings- Republican incumbent, in office since 1999. He is a sixteen time winner of Certificate of Achievment for Excellence in Financial Reporting. ( only 3 of the 29 counties have clerk/auditor who have received this award) Apparently is very efficient with and watchful of taxpayer money. Considering the many awards and that he is running unopposed I think no further information is needed.
County Commission, Seat A
David Andreasen- Republican (no site at this time)
Kelly Dixon- Democrat (no site at this time)
Brett P. Millburn- Republican (site exists but is down at this time)
County Commission, Seat B
Drew Chamberlain- Republican (no site at this time)
Louenda H. Downs- Republican (no site at this time)
County Recorder
Richard T. Maughan- Republican (no site at this time)

County Sheriff
Solomon Oberg- Republican, with leadership experience from 1998. Was encouraged to run for this office when incumbent decided not to run further. Intends to lower costs and increase efficiency by "data-driven" methods and reducing redundency by better coordination. Has a large amount of field experience and also has Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice Administration. He is currently studying at the U of U for a Masters in Public Administration. Overall he has a history of public service and has the experience and knowledge to do the job.

Todd Richardson- Republican, filed for candidacy on 3/15/2010, has 25 years of law enforcement experience 15 of which are in leadership. Is endorsed by three previous sheriffs and the attorney general of Utah. He is running on three major issues: principled leadership, practical solutions, and fiscal responsibility. Has a Masters in Public Adminstration already. Overall he has more experience (implied to be real world rather than the semi-idealistic ideas of his opposition) and more knowledge of the job, seems to plan on continuing the status quo of this office instead of Oberg's idea to change some things.

County Surveyor
Max Elliot- Republican (no site at this time)
Randy N. Miller- Unaffiliated (no site at this time)

County Treasurer
Mark Altom- Incumbent republican, has a site. Nearly no information except that he has been treasurer since 1992. Plans to continue to improve the efficiency of this office with changes he has made, and likely will make, and technology. Running with no opposition. Overall "seems" reliable but not enough info.(he should fire whoever did his photo as it looks like he may like the horse too much)

My First Post

As a county delegate I've been trying to do some research on the candidates. I've sent emails out to gather feedback:

After going to the Davis County website to locate the candidates I started sending out a few emails:

Hi Troy

I am one of the county delegates from my precinct, NS02. I was hoping to be able to meet you. Will you be having any meetings or open house activities?

You mention on your home page that you and your staff have saved the county general fund $351,261.54. Could you elaborate a on how this was done?

Thanks,

Dean

Troy was very responsive. He answered my email with a phone call shortly after 5 pm the same day. I didn't take notes on the conversation but he did go into some detail about the cost savings efforts. My impression was that he was doing his best to do a responsible job. He is running as the only Republican candidate for the position. The other candidate is Libertarian.