Several Dowagiac men and women are vying to become the Republican nominees for two area county commissioner seats during the state primary election next Tuesday, Aug. 2.

The GOP nomination for the commissioner races in District One and District Seven will be decided that day, determining which two candidates will represent the party during the general election in November.

The Dowagiac area is represented by two of the seven county commissioners, who serve two-year terms in office. All seven seats will up for election this year, with five of those races being contested.

Before local voters hit the polls next week to decide, the Dowagiac Daily News approached the five candidates running in contested races on the primary ballot, asking them all the same set of questions about their backgrounds and why they are running for office. Their answers have been recorded and transcribed below.

In District Seven, Leon Anderson Jr., a former county commissioner and city council member, is running against Wendy Alexander-Glaser, who challenged for the District Seven commissioner seat as an independent in 2014, for the Republican nomination. The winner of the primary will go on to face incumbent Democrat E. Clark Cobb for the position in November.

District Seven encompasses most of the City of Dowagiac as well as Pokagon Township.

Candidate profiles for those vying for the seat in District One will be available in Wednesday’s issue of the Dowagiac Daily News.

Leon ‘Andy’ Anderson Jr.

How long have you lived in Cass County?

Thirty-nine years, this time. I have lived here two other times.

What is your professional background? 

Currently, I’m doing regulatory work for cell phone companies. When they need zoning approval, building permits, FAA and FCC approvals, I do that. I primarily work in the Midwest, all the way from Nebraska to Indiana, and Michigan, of course, and Illinois and northern Missouri.

What is your civic background?

I was on the Dowagiac City Council for seven years, back in 1983 to 1990. I was Mayor Pro Tem from 1987 to 1989. I was on the Cass County Board of Commissioners for six years, from 1990 to 1996.

One of my primary responsibilities was chairing the law and courts committee, which accounts for about 60 percent of the county budget. Other than that, I’ve been chairman of the Cass County Planning Commission, back in the late 1990s. I’m currently on the Cass County Planning Commission.

I have been a member of the City of Dowagiac Police Advisory Board. I have been the chairman of the Local Official Compensation Board for the City of Dowagiac. In 1984-85, I was chairman Region One of the Michigan Municipal League.

What organizations/clubs are you involved with in the community?

I was retail chairman of the Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce. I was on board of directors for the Michigan Small Business Association back in the mid-‘90s. I was a founding director of the Dowagiac Historic Association and chaired nine of their historic home tours. I have been involved in a lot of community activities as well.

Why are you running for commissioner?

I took a hiatus when I was doing the work for the cell phone companies. I was doing a lot of traveling, and although I never left Dowagiac, I was commuting back and forth primarily between Michigan and Iowa. When I came back, I wanted to figure out a way to get involved, and I got placed on the Cass County Planning Commission.

I just feel I have the experience to do this. I have always felt citizens have a duty to participate in their local government, regardless of where it is. The time just seemed appropriate. I talked with several people about what was going on with the board of commissioners.

I served on the Board of Commissioners back when Terry Proctor was the county administrator, and there has been quite a turnover in administrators since then. That disturbs me — what was going on and what was involved in that. It seemed like it was good time for somebody to step in who had a different view and outlook on things.

What are the biggest challenges facing the county right now, and how would you address them if you were elected?

We have a very talented group of people who are on the economic development corporation, and one of the things I would like to do is to talk to those folks and say, “hey, what do you need from the county commission to do your job even more effectively than what you are doing.” We need jobs in this county. You look around and you see the population declining, the population ageing, you see the housing deteriorating, all because these people don’t have jobs.

As for the aging population, how are we going to get young people in the county if they don’t have jobs to do?

If I had the fortune of being elected, another thing I would like to see is more town hall type meetings, where we invite people to come and let them ask questions while I tell them a few things that are going on in the county and how we might help.

 

What are your most positive attributes that you would bring to the job?

When I come, I want to have ideas, that I get from my constituents or other things, and I want to make sure we have a plan to do it.

We have a county administrator we pay $100,000 a year, and we as the board need to be a conduit for that person to receive input, evaluate things, and enlighten them as to what things the citizens are interested in.

I would not want to micromanage the county. I think we need to be a conduit, we need to review things, we need to look at the budget to make sure we are staying on target.

What do you love most about Cass County?

We [my wife and I] wanted to raise our kids in a small community, where we knew what was going on, we could easily get involved, our kids would be safe because we would be familiar with what was going on.

It ended up being a good move for us. Our three kids have gotten a good education. … It’s why we wanted to be here. And my wife likes to freeze and can fruits and vegetables, and you can’t be in a better place for that than here in Cass County.

 

Wendy Alexander-Glaser

How long have you lived in Cass County?

I have been coming here my entire life. After I graduated from high school here, I lived in Florida for a couple years, then I moved to California for a couple years, but other than that I have lived here straight on since 1984.

What is your professional background?

I worked for the American Red Cross for almost eight years, and I spent one year as the chapter executive for Berrien County. The rest of the time I worked as an account manager in biomedical services, which is the blood collection.

Currently, I have an Internet company that we are in the process of launching right now.

What is your civic background?

I was precinct delegate for Ward Three [in Dowagiac].

What organizations/clubs are you involved with in the community?

We attend Harvest Bible Chapel, but as far as to being involved in any other nonprofits besides what I have already mentioned, not currently.

Why are you running for commissioner?

Everybody wants good representation, but nobody wants to run. It is important to have people who will be accountable. I am a voter, I am a county resident and I do not necessarily like how the county government is run, how business is carried about. I want someone who will be on the commission who will be straight up and communicating with the people what the goals are.

I want to make sure we are not having unelected planning commissions that are not responsible to the people, who are making decisions or holding sway over our local government or influencing them unduly. They are not elected officials in the county, so therefore they are not accountable for the policies they want to implement.

It is important to have people who care and are willing to let everyone know, “hey, here is what is going on.”

 

What are the current challenges the county faces, and how will you work to solve them?

Every government, municipality, is responsible for the taxpayer’s money — and it is the taxpayer’s money, not the county’s money, the state’s money or the federal government’s money, it is the people’s money. For me, there has to be particular attention made to how are money is spent. I think that once someone gets elected and no one runs against them, they start making decisions where they are not the stewards of people’s money like they should be.

There are lot of things that happen on the local government level that don’t get much attention. I want to be someone who will let people know who are not on the county commission know what is going. The level of communication the board currently has with the public is not where it should be.

What positive attributes do you feel you would bring to the job?

I think I am honest. I am frank. I do not believe in double talking, coaching language and phrases to where people do not know what is really being voted on…for me, communicating agendas in layman’s terms so that everybody understands them is hugely important.

What do you love most about Cass County?

I like the fact it is a county where there are a lot of small towns. There is not a big population here. There is a life style we have here where you can visit the grocery store and the library and be back home in 20 minutes. I think it is a great place to live.