Supervisor Seat Is Only Contested Courthouse Race
There’s only one contested race in Mills County for a county courthouse position in Tuesday’s general election.
Incumbent Republican Richard Crouch of Malvern is opposed by Libertarian Jay Anderson of rural Glenwood for a seat on the Mills County Board of Supervisors.
In separate interviews with The Opinion-Tribune, Crouch and Anderson shared their views on several topics, including what their priorities will be if elected to a four-year term.
Richard Crouch
Crouch, a farmer, is seeking his fifth term on the three-member board and believes his 16 years of experience working with other county and state officials is one of his strongest assets.
Economic development will be at the top his priority list if re-elected.
“In the next four years, I would really like to see accomplishments in economic development,” he said. “We have got to get the tax burden spread out over some property other than just personal.”
Crouch said development that’s taken place near the Interstate 29 – Highway 34 interchange in the past year and other projects being pursued to the region have him feeling optimistic about future economic development.
Communications is another issue the county is addressing at this time and one Crouch expects to be at the forefront in the coming months and years. Installing communications towers in the area has created some unique challenges, he said, including getting permission from Native Americans.
“The one tower we’re putting up in the Waubonsie area south of Glenwood is an area where the Indians thrived years ago,” Crouch said. “Burial grounds is the main thing, but we’re going to have to bore quite deep to support the towers. We have gotten the OK from that group to build down there. They just want to be on site when we do it and we’re OK with that.”
Expanding, and in some cases, just bringing broadband Internet service to portions of the county is a priority as well. Crouch said pockets of slow Internet service currently exist throughout the county.
“Broadband is our big thing. We’re working on it – bringing faster Internet service,” he said. “We’re working with the telephone companies that serve the county.”
Crouch said the need for faster broadband Internet service is something “everybody asked for” in a study conducted on the county’s behalf.
“People wanted broadband before they wanted rural water or fire department things,” Crouch said. “Broadband was the No. 1 issue they wanted. A lot of people want to work from home and reside in Mills County and we’re hoping we can make it available for them.”
Mental health is an area Crouch has devoted considerable time to as a member of the county board. He said it’s a complicated, on-going issue, but he believes improvements are being made statewide in regard to mental health care.
Crouch is a Glenwood High School graduate and took financial accounting classes at Iowa Western Community College. He served in the Iowa National Guard. He and his wife, Barb, have four children and one grandchild.
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Jay Anderson
Anderson is in his first political campaign, but the Shenandoah native has had a nearly lifelong interest in government and politics.
“I’ve always been interested in politics and following how things occur, normally at the national level,” Anderson said. “Once you own a home and you pay property taxes and things of that nature, you become more aware of how
government impacts your life.”
Government transparency is a major issue of concern for Anderson.
“Not that our local county government is doing anything wrong, it’s just that it’s not transparent and I feel that’s by design” he said. “ They’re following the letter of the law, but those laws are outdated.
For instance, the board of supervisors meetings should be video recorded so that people can gain the context of those meetings. Most people in Mills County work for a living so when those meetings are held Tuesday at 8 a.m., most people are at work.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to come home and watch those meetings at your convenience so that you can gain some insight into what was discussed?”
Anderson said the meeting minutes posted online by the supervisors provide no context and very limited information.
Another priority for Anderson is conservation and looking for ways for the county to preserve its pollinator habitat.
“Let’s look at adopting practices that have been used elsewhere in the country and also in the state that will be preserve pollinator habitat and beautify our county in the sense that those dollars would be redirected toward projects that have more of an impact to the taxpayer,” he said.
Other issues of concern to Andersen include the need in Mills County for a “no-kill, no-suffer” animal shelter and a recycling program.
In operating an animal shelter, he said the county could turn to the expertise of local residents who are running successful animal rescue operations in Mills County. As for recycling, Anderson believes Mills County is far behind other communities of comparable size, noting the recycling program in Page County.
“Shenandoah has three drop-off sites run by the county and every city in the county has one,” he said. “Why isn’t Mills County doing things like that? People want to recycle. I think implementing a county-wide recycling program would be a huge success. Maybe take some of those funds you use for mowing ditches a half-dozen times a year and you pay a salary or two with equipment to be able to organize and run a recycling program.”
Anderson added he would favor expanding the board of supervisors to five members.
“Mills County is growing and I think by adding two more spots on the supervisor board you get more points of view on an issue and a diversity of opinions,” Anderson said.
Anderson and his wife, Julie, have lived in Mills County since 2009. He studied at Iowa Western Community College where he obtained an associate of architectural engineering degree. From there, he went on to study structural engineering at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He earned his bachelor of science degree in design and master of architecture degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He’s employed as a data center security technical project manager at Facebook in Papillion.
Also on the ballot:
Mills County’s other candidates for courthouse positions are all Republicans running unopposed – county attorney Naeda Elliott, county treasurer Jill Ford and county recorder Lisa Tallman. The ballot also includes voting for township trustees, county extension council, soil and water commissioners and the retention of judges.
On the state level, Republican District 23 State Representative David Sieck is opposed by Democratic challenger Chuck Larson.
Several state and federal offices are up for election in 2018, including governor and U.S. House of Representatives.
Polling sites across the county will be open Tuesday, Nov. 6, from 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. Early voting is available through Monday at the Mills County Auditor’s Office in Glenwood. The office will also be open Saturday, Nov. 3, from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Today is the last day to request an absentee ballot from the auditor’s office.