Commissioner Q&A: Ray Tucker, Running for Commissioner District 2, incumbent

Q. Why are you best qualified to represent Mower County as a county commissioner?

A. I have had the privilege of serving as a Mower County Commissioner for 16 years, and with that time served has come a clear understanding of how county government works.

 

Q. What would be your main goals if elected?

A. My No. 1 goal is to continue to work hard to make county government efficient and to hold cost in check.

 

Q. The county recently learned it will receive about $400,000 less in County Program Aid from the state in 2013. What kind of specific cuts or changes would you support to address this and other state aid shifts? What do you consider too important to cut?

A. The County will have to absorb this cut and continue looking for more cost-effective methods of supplying services to the citizens of Mower County.

 

Q. The county is one of the six remaining in the once 12-county Southeast Minnesota Human Services Redesign project. The project would lead to merging human services in the remaining counties, which previous studies said could result in staffing reductions. Would you support the merger, and how would you handle the potential effects to staff? And how would you expect the merger to affect taxpayers?

A. At this time there are many more questions that will need to be asked by remaining counties before any further action can by taken by our county.

Q. A structural engineer recently deemed the grandstand at the Mower County Fair unsafe for use. Would you support fixing the grandstand, rebuilding the grandstand or continuing to rent temporary bleachers? Rebuilding or repairing the grandstand could cost more than $500,000. Renting bleachers each year would cost $7,000 to $10,000 a year.

A. We will have a better idea on the Grandstand concerns following the completion of the fair this year. We will look at how the temporary bleachers worked out.