In the upcoming election on November 2, there are three Dows City Council seats up for grabs. Four candidates have thrown their hat in the ring to run. Because this is a contested election, the Monitor asked the candidates to answer some questions to inform voters of their backgrounds and positions. Their responses are reproduced below in their entirety with little to no editing.
Last week, candidates Richard Echelberger and Loren Lienemann’s answers appeared in the paper. This week, the remaining two candidates’ questionnaires are featured.
Christina Peterson
Why are you running for Dows City Council?
I am choosing to run for the Dows City Council to get more involved and to continue to share all the great things that Dows offers as a community with the goal to hopefully encourage others to seek out choosing Dows for their home.
What background or skill set do you have that makes you qualified for city council?
I have been a RN for 10+ years and have worked in a variety of settings including the academic setting as an instructor for ECC and currently the Director of Nursing Services for Iowa Specialty Hospitals. I have experience working with employees but also the public along with creating a budget and working within a budget. While I was in nursing school, I managed the Dows Pool for several summers and even organized a fundraiser that brought in $13,000 to help off-set the expenses that the pool incurs. I am also involved in nursing at the state level and have previous experiences with different boards.
What do you feel are the biggest issues facing Dows today?
I would love to work on how do we continue to develop and bring people to Dows, whether that is choosing to do business in town or purchase a home to start a family. We need to look at how we can preserve the great history of Dows and what all those before us have done, but also how can we move forward. Dows offers great homes with reasonable living expenses and basic needs within a few blocks- we need to take this and encourage others to consider Dows when wanting to move. We also need to encourage younger people to get involved. This may take time, but the more involved people are the more ownership they have.
What does the city need to do to address those issues and how would you help with that effort?
1.) Look at our downtown- is there vacant spaces that could be a new home for a business? We have several great businesses that people are doing out of their homes- can we work with them to get them in a building downtown and help grow their services and the services available in Dows
2.) We have several homes that are dilapidated and are past the point of fixing up. Unfortunately, they are an eye sore and need to be cleaned up. A plan needs to be created to get these homes cleaned up and/or removed, allowing for those who drive through town to see homes that are welcoming and cleaned up. It can be enticing to someone to move to Dows to get an open lot and build or buy a home that has a lot open next to it vs. being in a town where homes are right next to each other.
If you are elected, what are your three biggest goals for your term?
1.) To continue to be more involved- I would love to work closely to re-activate the Dows Development Committee. Any event that we can set up and get people to our community also supports our businesses
2.) From my time of working at the pool- I would love to continue to work with the council on how to improve pool operations and have something for the young people of Dows to go to that is fun, but safe
3.) Grants- there are several federal grants that help support rural towns and will help to fix them up. I feel like this is also an area that I could help with and bring some extra funding to off-set expenses when possible.
Craig Russell
Why are you running for Dows City Council?
I retired 5 years ago. I’ve wanted to do this for a while but never felt like I had the time. Now that I’m retired, I finally felt like I have the time to serve in a full capacity.
What background or skill set do you have that makes you qualified for city council?
I am a Dows grad and a life-long resident of the area. I served on the Dows School Board for about a dozen years and have been involved in church and other activities. I’ve also served in county-wide positions. Bottom line, I care about our community and the people of the county.
What do you feel are the biggest issues facing Dows today?
The biggest issue is infrastructure which is difficult to define. We have challenges as a small town, especially since the pandemic. We need to see what we can do to bring businesses back to Main Street especially. Other issues include the water system, sewer system, streets and maintaining property.
What does the city need to do to address those issues and how would you help with that effort?
I realize that the first few years will be a big learning curve, but I think if you are making the commitment to run and do get elected, it’s important to do the necessary things out in the community even outside of meetings. Basically, the biggest thing is committing the time to serving the community and helping with the little things.
If you are elected, what are your three biggest goals for your term? -Doing what we can to clean up the community -Learning the position- I’ll need to figure out what I am able to bring to the table, be a good listener, and be accessible to people -Addressing Main Street
