Gregory Nelson: Candidate Profile

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:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: MontgomeryWebsite: http://votegregnelson.com/Office sought: Kane County board District 8Age: 53Family: Married 27 Years to my High School sweetheart (Debby). We have two great kids. Blythe is a Junior at Rockford College getting her teaching degree. Our son Brenden is a Senior at Aurora Central Catholic.Occupation: I'm the owner/partner of GENESIS-POS where we develop solutions for the grocery industry. We are the third largest developer of perishable solutions software in the world. http://www.genesis-pos.comEducation: High School and some college course work.Civic involvement: I'm a watch dog over the Village of Montgomery, local school district and other taxing bodies.Elected offices held: Trustee?for the Oswego?Library DistrictHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 The new computer systems for the judicial branch of the county. With my vast knowledge of computer technologies I will be an invaluable asset to head up the savings and direction of this and other projects that use my 30+ years of knowledge in this area.Key Issue 2 Property Tax Freeze. We need to find a better way to calculate and forecast our taxes we all pay. We also need to spend those dollars like they are our last dollars.Key Issue 3 Address why the southern portion of our county is often over looked. It seems that we have gotten over the years less and less of the taxes collected back in project money. We should get our fair share and then some because of years of northern dollars spent.Questions Answers Did the county board get it right when they decided to leave an ethics ordinance that is more stringent but more open to a legal challenge in place? Would you support the creation of more detailed economic interest statements?We should be following the Golden Rules of Ethics always. Disclose it always, period! Should we look again at this of course and it should be reviewed yearly.Would you support the buildout of the shell space in the Kane County jail if it could be shown that the space could/would be used to increase profits from housing federal inmates?Only if the risk to the county is zero. We should not be spending to get someones problems!Do you believe the county court system needs a computer system upgrade that might cost as much as $12.6 million? If so, do you support using RTA sales tax money to fund it, or do you have a different plan? If not, what is your alternative plan?Yes on the System. Using funds from RTA is a hard pill to swallow but yes some cash may need to come from that source. Do I have a plan that is effective, yes! I feel strongly we should be partnering with other counties to share the burden and get economy of scale on purchases. Sometimes the GSA and other pricing points are not that great. I would use my resources and knowledge to get the biggest bang for all concerned is all I can offer and give. I also feel that the savings of sharing should cut 20-30% off the current estimated cost.Do you support the call by the state's attorney and public defender for raises for their staffs? Where should that money come from?Yes. That money will come from reductions in all departments. One of our biggest things we do is within these departments. We should have properly paid people, with proper skills but the raise amounts should be in line with current cost of living standards.What aspects of the Fabyan/Settlers Hill campus redevelopment vision created by the task force do you support? What should happen to the old county jail property?I think for now we should table any expenses until our economy is back on better footing. Spending to spend is not and never will be on my table. We should do just basic maintenance until the cash is there and we have a long range plan in place that works for everyone. I think the task force did a good job but I?m not 100% behind it until we can pay for it and know we are covered for today, tomorrow and many years to come.