Today, I post a candidate interview with Paul Ferguson, Republican nominee for Dresden Town Supervisor. Below are my questions and Mr. Ferguson’s responses.
1.) Could you please tell us about yourself and why you are running for Town Supervisor?
I am a long time resident of Dresden. I have been married for over 25 years and have raised two sons here. I have worked for Washington County for the past 20 years in several levels of the highway department.
2.) Town taxes have gone up significantly in the last few years. Where do you stand on town tax increases in the future?
I do not support increasing taxes at the town or county level. In fact, the increase in taxes year after year is part of the reason I am running.
3.) The Town Supervisor sits on the Washington County Board of Supervisors. Could you name a few areas where you feel things at the county level could be improved? Will you challenge other supervisors from larger towns when you feel they are wrong?
I feel that some of the supervisors are not paying attention and are allowing our tax dollars to be wasted in some cases. Everyone at the table should educate themselves before placing a vote.
On highway level issues alone, there are many ways to save money that supervisors may not be aware of but can be made aware of. I have been with the highway department for 20 years and I have seen frivolous spending that could have been prevented.
4.) There’s a general feeling that people in Huletts Landing and Dresden have that we pay a lot in taxes but we get very little in return. Is this perception correct or incorrect?
Taxpayers pay too much for entire roads in Huletts to be ignored.
For example, this past summer, some trees were knocked down and were partly blocking county route 6 A/B in Huletts. Homeowners were forced to clean this up because the trees were unattended to by county workers for weeks. Shoulders were washed away and not fixed in a timely manner causing more damage to the road resulting in more tax dollars being wasted.
5.) What do you consider your greatest strengths?
I believe that I will bring a new voice to the Board of Supervisors. A voice that listens to the taxpayers of Dresden. I believe in honesty and taking responsibility for your actions.
Editor’s note: I would like to thank Mr. Ferguson for his responses. Interview questions and answers are published in the order in which they are received. Any bolded areas of text outside of the highlighted question were provided to me by the candidate.