Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Profile: Jackson Co. District 2 Board Candidates
JACKSON COUNTY -- Voters will choose a new Jackson County Board this election year. But out of seven districts, only one has a contested primary race. In district two, three republicans are running for their party's nomination: Dan Bost, Jackie Norton, and Brian Crowell. Crowell declined to be a part of this profile.
Bost is the district's only incumbent. Current member Mark Holt is not running again. After being appointed, Bost proceeded to lose his first election before reclaiming his position for six years. "I ran and lost, but seeing what took place, I felt there was a need there for improvement to help Jackson County, you know, grow and reach its potential," he explains. Bost says getting the county to reach its potential means reducing property taxes, and he has proposed a five-year plan to do that. He says, "Then we can hold steady at that through our budget process, and the tax base will grow and there will be more money on the whole, because there's more tax base to tax at that one-and-a-half percent." Candidate Jackie Norton is just as adamant about reducing taxes. "Our property taxes are already way too high. They definitely need to be, actually, lowered." Norton says she disagrees with some of the board's spending priorities, like expanding the county jail and borrowing money. "We can't continue to do this. The well's going to run dry," says Norton. "Because the state's money, the state is broke, the country is broke, it's going to be hard, hard choices for everybody." Norton says the county also needs to cut more funding from departments. She credits her degree in business management and former experience running a business in Murphysboro for the ideas she is ready to bring to the table. Norton also says her 11 years on the Murphysboro Zoning Board of Appeals gives her insight into how government operates. "I just feel like I'm ready," says Norton. "I feel like I have a fire in my belly to do something for the people." We made several attempts to include candidate Brian Crowell, but were told he did not want to participate. The primary is March 20th. Early voting begins on Monday. |
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