Kathryn Potter: 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: CaryWebsite: www.PotterForThePeople.comTwitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: McHenry County Board District 1 Age: 32Family: Candidate did not respond.Occupation: Director of Child DevelopmentEducation: BA in SociologyCivic involvement: NNO Planning Committee, CCPAAA, Alg46 Democratic Precinct Committeeman, Bernie 2016 community volunteer.Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers There were significant voting problems in the March primary. Are you confident sufficient steps have been taken to avoid a repeat in November? What role, if any, should the county board have in such matters?I trust that the County Clerk is working dutifully to ensure we do not have a repeat of the problems we saw in the March primary. I see no need for the County Board to hinder any progress being made at this point.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?Voters deserve the opportunity to vote for someone with different ideas and approach. Our politicians promise to cut taxes while simultaneously treating us like an A.T.M. and I believe there is more to being a leader than arbitrarily cutting taxes and making symbolic gestures. I am passionate about planning for our future, protecting our environment, and standing up for working families in McHenry County. I am concerned with the lack of concern from County Board members regarding the sustainability of our county water supply. We rely 100% on groundwater and county reports indicate potential shortages by 2030.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.I believe the county collects a sufficient amount of tax revenues and this is why they maintain a balanced budget. However, I believe the county economic strategy should be more diverse and progressive to take the tax burden off residents and provide economic security should a revenue stream fail in the future. The County Board should recruit emerging industries that share our same values of economic responsibility and sustainability and retain a local workforce. The uncertainty at the state level is the chief threat I see looming in the future and we must take charge of our own economic situation.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.More work is needed to make county board meetings and committee meetings more accessible to the public. It would cost taxpayers nothing to have meetings video recorded and streamed online. The county website is not user-friendly and we need a simplified search feature that returns results based on terms used and not specific item numbers. We should have easy access to the exact same information our county board members do. Increasing transparency is vital to increasing accountability to our elected officials.Please list any elected office you've ever run for and what the result of that election was. Have you ever been appointed to fill an unexpired term?Appointed Democratic Precinct Committeeman for Algonquin 46What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Many people have shared with me their feelings that the middle class is being left behind. I agree, and my ideas and concerns go beyond just cutting taxes. It's important that the most basic functions of government are working properly and for us.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Senator Bernie SandersWhat is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?If you can read and follow directions you can do anythingIf life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would hold my baby longer while he was still a babyWhat was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Sociology shaped my ability to evaluate how everything relates and affects one another and also the ability to see the world objectivelyIf you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Be kind and forgiving