McHenry County board District 3 Schmidt: Candidate Profile

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Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioQA Bio City: Crystal LkaeWebsite: www.berganschmidt.comOffice sought: McHenry County board District 3 Age: Candidate did not respond.Family: Spouse Lawrence Son ChristopherOccupation: Retired Instructor of HistoryEducation: BA in History, Quincy University, Quincy IL MA in History, University of Illinois-UrbanaCivic involvement: McHenry County Historical Society Environmental Defenders of McHenry County The Land Conservancy of McHenry County McHenry County Women's Cancer Task Force Silver Creek/Sleepy Hollow Watershed CoalitionElected offices held: 2008-12 McHenry County Board, District 3 Nunda 1 Democratic Precinct CommitteemanHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoQuestions Answers Why are you running for this office, whether for re-election or election for the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you? If so, what?Why not? Why not make use of my previous 4 years experience on the County Board and the research and analytical skills I have from my academic training in history to deal with the current and yet-to-come issues before the county board. As it has in the past, the need for maintaining the quantity and quality of the water resources of the county would be of prime concern.Describe your position regarding the balance between county spending and revenues as it exists today, then describe the chief threats you see looming in the future and how the county should deal with them.Revenues are static or declining but what services the county is obligated and/or expected to provide to residents are increasing in cost. Ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness and delivery of services should be done. If cost-cutting or elimination of services proves to be necessary, it should be done with a scalpel, not a sledgehammer.If you are an incumbent, describe your main contributions. Tell us of any important initiatives you've led. If you are a challenger, what would you bring to the board and what would your priority be?When on the board from 2008-12, I initiated the â#128;œUnincorporated Resident Resource Pageâ#128;ť on the county website to provide an easily-located spot to find information that is needed and/or helpful, such as well information, burning regulations, where the nondedicated subdivision roads are located. If re-elected to the board, my priority would be to attend to the committees and duties assigned to me in order to â#128;œ provide for the common goodâ#128;ť as the US Constitution preamble states.How do you rate the county government on transparency and the public's access to records? If you consider it adequate, please explain why. If you think improvements are needed, please describe them and why they are important.Adequate does describe the current state of McHenry Countyâ#128;™s transparency and public access to records. Good advances have been made in recent years through such measures as audio recording of board meetings and greater use of the website to convey information. But â#128;œadequateâ#128;ť always leaves room for improvement. Audio recording of board meetings is a great resource, extending such recording to committee meetings would make how decisions are reached more transparent. The Finance and Audit and the Planning and Development Committees would be a good place to start.Name one concrete program youâ#128;™ll create or personnel move youâ#128;™ll make to improve efficiency in the office or make it more successful. Explain how it will be funded and how you will overcome any obstacles to initiating it.Candidate did not respond.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?I support reducing the number of county board members and increasing the number of districts. And I would like to see the exact numbers of such a â#128;œfewer and moreâ#128;ť change decided by a task force that includes both a limited number of county board members and representatives of the citizens of the county. The 2030 Plan Commission and the group formed to create the Water Resources Action Plan provide examples such collaboration efforts that benefit the county.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.State Senator Kathleen Vinehout of northwest Wisconsinâ#128;™s District 31 is a hard working, common sense progressive legislator â#128;#147; all states could use more like her!What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Vote in each and every election â#128;#147; especially local elections such as school boards and village government.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Candidate did not respond.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?History was my favorite subject. It provided me with good professional teaching credentials and background knowledge and analytical skills useful as a member of society.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?No whining allowed if you donâ#128;™t vote â#128;#147; so vote in each and every election.