Of the two candidates running for an Athens County Commissioner seat in November's election, one touts fixing the county's budget as his number one concern while the other cites creating jobs as his biggest priority.
Democratic incumbent Lenny Eliason, who has served as commissioner since 1998, said fixing Athens County's budget is his number one concern because it determines what services the county can and cannot provide for the people.
Republican challenger Matt Gaiser said creating jobs is his number one priority.
All we have to do is change our environment
our attitude about allowing people to come create jobs and the jobs will be here Gaiser said. We've got a big sign that says 'Welcome to Athens County. We're closed to new business.'
Eliason currently sits on the National Association of Counties Membership Committee and plans to leave the creation of jobs up to the private sector of the government, he said, adding that he will not address job creation directly but will foster an environment where jobs can grow.
Both Eliason and Gaiser have differing opinions on changing the location of the Athens County Sheriff's Office.
The county is going to move the Sheriff's office away from Uptown when they have the funding, Eliason said, adding that the move is important for the safety of citizens living outside the county limits.
Gaiser said Sheriff Pat Kelly should consider placing the new office where he can respond to the most calls and that he thinks the facility is inadequate because it is not handicap accessible, is crammed for space and does not have sufficient security.
(Kelly) is (located) in a poor area to serve the county
Gaiser said. Being in uptown Athens is not where he needs to be to respond to calls.
Although Gaiser said he thinks it makes sense to move the office, he is concerned with how much it will cost the county.
1
News
Victoria Calderon
32750a.jpg
