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Thursday, July 1, 2010 • HERITAGE NEWSPAPERS/WESTERN REGION
PRIMARY FROM PAGE 2-A
Electrical Apprenticeship School. I have attended several electrical, business, healthcare and pension fund courses for my business and boards that I am on. I have also attended several school board education classes on finances, legal issues, boardmanship and superintendent selection. Owning and running a business for 22 years and working in the construction industry for 34 years through four recessions has taught me more on how to streamline a business, live within a budget or how to continue to operate on less than any class I have ever taken. Previous elected office: I was elected to the Chelsea school board in 2001 and reelected in 2005 and 2009. I have enjoyed my term on this board. I have learned a lot and have been able to work with many very talented people. With this commissioner position opening up, I see this as a chance to be able to serve a greater area of people than I am right now, plus with my one daughter graduating next year and the other entering high school, I was planning that this would be my last term on the school board. Non-public elections I have been elected twice as president of the Michigan Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association and have been recently elected The Chapter Governor to represent the Chapter to the National Association. Current public or community service: I am a member of the Spring Arbor University Board of Trustees. I have been the liaison to Beach Middle School in which I help out with school functions, chaperone dances, helped chaperone the Washington, D.C., trip, attend parent meetings and I had the honor of addressing the end-ofyear eighth-grade celebration events for both my daughters’ classes. For the last four years, I have been a chaperone at the Chelsea High School Dances. I was able to volunteer some electrical work for this year’s
high school prom. I have been a Sunday School teacher at my church for 30 years. I also volunteer my electrical skills at a small Hispanic Church in Jackson. Key issues *We need to work hard to keep this county fiscally responsible. *We need to adjust the priorities within the budget to find the money to put more deputies on the roads to shorten response times when there is trouble. *I believe with our aging facilities more can be done to save money on energy consumption. How will you address each of these issues: * With the shrinking resources it’s receiving and to keep on working to streamline the county’s departments and services to make sure that the county can live within its budget like all of us have to do. * It amazes me how well they do their jobs with as few patrols as there are on the road. But there are too few of them to keep crime under control and to protect the families and businesses in the rural areas of this county. I have worked together with those of different philosophies than mine to come up with ways to cut budgets with the least amount of harm to those we serve. To find the ways to do all of this, one must have the expertise, but also the dedication and drive to dig right in and find the excesses. I have always made myself available to do this. The place to start to find these excesses is at the grassroots -- the workers in each department know more than anyone else where the excesses are. *Finding the funds to put more patrols on the road will probably mean that the county will have to refocus its priorities on its mandated services and less on some of its nonmandated services. As the federal and state government keep withholding more of our tax dollars from the local government, we are going to have focus our resources on what is mandated so that we do a few things well and not a lot of things poorly. Website:
rturnerii@turnerelec.net Personal: 53 years old; married to Julianne with four daughters. (District 1 candidate Reid McCarthy declined to fill out the profile survey, saying although his name will appear on the ballot, family matters prevent him from fufilling the duties of the office and therefore he would not accept the position if elected.)
BEN COLMERY Office sought: Washtenaw Country Commissioner, District 2. Political affiliation: Republican. Occupation: Veterinarian Education: Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine, 1968. Previous elected office: Past president, Ann Arbor Western Kiwanis. Key Issues *Keeping residents safe - the commissioners are responsible for District Courts and County Sheriff ’s Department. *Fiscal responsibility. How will you address each of these issues: *The commissioners are responsible for maintaining public safety and the district court system: This is a priority. *Fiscal responsibility: Both the state and federal governments are deep in red ink. We cannot assume or expect “trickle down” financial help; therefore, it is up to us to spend our money wisely and remain solvent. It starts at home. *My vision for Washtenaw County: It begins at home. The Founding Fathers envisioned effective local governments to deal with and solve local problems. *To this end, the County Commissioners are responsible for keeping the county safe and helping its citizens achieve local goals. The federal government has created unsustainable debt at the federal level and we cannot rely on others to take care of our problems. The county commissioners must live within the means of the county and practice financial responsibility. *My mission statement for
Washtenaw County: The mission statement is the most important statement a business can make. The Washtenaw County Commissioners do not have a mission statement. Without a mission statement, the decision-making process becomes fragmented and based on personal opinion, rather than focusing what is their function. This deficiency needs to be resolved. Personal: 64 years old, married with 8-year-old daughter (Candidates for District 2 who did not submit a profile for newspaper publication were Ken Schwartz, Democrat, and Dan Smith, Republican.)
ALICIA PING Office sought: Washtenaw County Commissioner, District 3. Political affiliation: Republican. Residence: City of Saline. Occupation: Financial representative. Education: Attended Washtenaw Community College and Eastern Michigan University, studying political science. Current public or community service: Saline City Council, 11 years (currently in sixth term). Current public or community service: Saline Area Senior Service Council, Saline Environmental Commission, Saline Arts and Culture Committee, board member for Foundation for Saline Area Schools and National League of Citizens Advisory Council Key issues *Budget. *Road infrastructure. How will you address each of these issues: *I’m on the Saline City Council, and this year we actually have, I believe, a 28 percent fund balance. We’ve been able to do that through this really tough economic time without raising taxes. I’d like to use my past experience for the new county budget. *I’m interested in the infrastructure of roads. It’s kind of a fine line because the commission doesn’t decide directly what to do. But I don’t think we
should be going backward on road infrastructure. Email: aping72@gmail.com Personal: Age, 37; married with two stepchildren.
WESLEY PRATER Office sought: Washtenaw County Commissioner, District 4. Political affiliation:
Democrat. Occupation: Retired from Ann Arbor Fire Department. Education: Graduate of University Michigan Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations. Previous elected office: Supervisor of Ypsilanti Township and trustee of PLEASE SEE PRIMARY/8-A
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