 Read the full article here. Winona Daily News endorsements: Meyer, Kovecsi and Ward for the county board There’s no shortage of hot-button issues that await the next Winona County Board. Something needs to be done about the Winona County Jail. A proposed feedlot expansion could bring back discussion of the Animal Unit cap. And the legality of the frac sand ban is, again, under judicial review. Needless to say, there’s going to be some debate. Winona County needs commissioners who are going to be fair, who do their homework and who represent the needs of their constituents. There needs to be a mix of push and pull when it comes to what the county can and can’t do in providing social services, in spurring economic development and in maintaining infrastructure. With that in mind, we are endorsing Chris Meyer in the 1st District, Marie Kovecsi in the 2nd District and Marcia Ward in the 5th District. 1st District: Chris Meyer Chris Meyer grew up on a dairy farm, worked in finance for a Fortune 500 company and now works part-time on sustainability and energy efficiency efforts. Those experiences have given her a pretty good perspective with which to tackle the various issues that come before our county commissioners. But if there’s something she didn’t know all too well, we have no doubt that Meyer will do the research necessary. That’s what she’s done on the Winona County Planning Commission and, before that, the Winona County Parks and Environment Commission. So impressive was her preparedness that outgoing 1st District commissioner Jim Pomeroy endorsed her as his replacement. While Meyer said the board needs to be efficient with taxpayers’ money, she doesn’t think that constantly cutting programs and lowering taxes is a vision. She wants to emphasize economic development and enter Winona County into regional partnerships to take advantage of grant money for transit projects or to find a way to benefit from Rochester’s Destination Medical Center initiative. “There’s a lot of cutting that we’ve already done,” she said. “We should try some other strategies to increase our tax base and increase our growth.” |
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