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Show "An Earto the People - We will Listen" Gregerson - Tong express Political Feelings "We don't visualize running a campaign along party lines . . . that's gone pretty much out of style," commented Lou Tong and Ned Gregerson, Democratic candidates for four and two year Iron County Commissioners as they opened their campaign this week. "When you stop to think about it, there isn't much difference between the two parties in Iron County anyway. We will represent people, the citizens of Iron County, who want the tax burden held down while essential services are provided," the two indicated in-dicated in a joint statement. We Will Listen The candidates told a group of campaign workers that ''we intend to be an ear to the people. They adopted a campaign slogan of "An ear to the people - we will listen." The County Commission candidates indicated that the slogan expressed their feelings and intentions. They told their supporters that "we would appreciate your help to analyze every phase of county government as it now exists and come up with suggested improvements in every area. Next, we feel it is important for you to show us how we are going to let the public decide whether or not it wants the program, and finally, how we can gain input from the people of the county we hope to represent." Needs Assessment "We need our preliminary proposals in a hurry. Wre have to have ideas as soon as possible in order that we can pursue, and, hopefully formulate for-mulate better answers to the problems and situations that currently exist. It is important ti find out what the people of Iron County think, want, and need," Dr. Gregerson stated. "Some of the needs that we must address are fire protection, water, power, roads, industrial development and most importantly comprehensive future planning," Tong said. "We want to know how the decisions can be made by the people, and who will pay the costs and receive the benefits," he said. Business Backgrounds "Ned and I are both businessmen," said Tong. "We both understand very well what it means to budget resources and insist on a fair return on investment. We also understand that there are times money would be spent when the return on the investment in-vestment makes it worthwhile in the long-range planning. Fire protection for valley residents is a case in point. It would probably be a wise investment. in-vestment. But, even though Ned and I are both capable men, we don't intend to rely solely on our own judgements without consulting with people who have a legitimate interest in the decision. "Lou and I are genuinely interested in serving the county," said Gregerson. We are both willing to consider new approaches to the problems of a growing county. Multiple Sources With the help of the people and the city governments in the county, the service clubs, the resources available from the college, and with the cooperation of state and federal agencies, I think we will be able to forsee the kind of development most beneficial to the county. We think we may be able to use county employees more effectively and at the same time, I think we need to see if we can't make the county a better employer." When asked about specific proposals they would be making during the campaign, Tong and Gregerson said they would more likely show the voters a process for making decisions, rather than the decisions themselves. "Any county business will have to be analized interms of how much it will cost, and what the benefits are. Then we will fit these proposals into a teamwork of public involvement, whether through something like the, planning commission, com-mission, through public hearings, questionaires sent out, or if appropriate, ap-propriate, by the direct elective process." |