League of Women Voters of Blount County 2006 Candidate Survey

 

Name             Donna Deakin Dowdy          

Phone: 865-681-9898

 

Candidate for: Blount County Commissioner District 10, Seat A

 

Please write your answers in the space provided or use a separate sheet, and return your survey in the enclosed stamped envelope. It is very important that you write legibly. Please consider e-mailing your completed survey by requesting an electronic survey at rderycke@bellsouth.net     

The League of Women Voters will acknowledge receipt of your completed survey.

 

I. Qualifications and experience:

  1. Please list your diplomas and degrees, along with the areas of study.

I am a 1976 graduate of Everett High School. I have earned the Accredited Advisor of Insurance (AAI) from the Insurance Institute of America. I have spent my entire working career in the insurance industry starting as a file clerk for Aetna Casualty & Surety in 1977 and continuing to my current position as a Producer at Cate-Russell Insurance, Inc.

 

  1. What relevant experience do you have, including previous public offices held?

I am currently serving my first term as a Blount County Commissioner from District 10, Seat A. For the past 25 years, I have served on numerous boards consisting of trade associations such as Insurance Women of Knoxville, Insurors of Knoxville, Associated Builders and Contractors of East Tennessee. I have held different officer positions in each of these organizations such as President and Treasurer.

 

 

  1. Please list local service and civic groups in which you have participated, including when and for how long.

United Way of Greater Knoxville- 1993 through 2002

United Way of Blount County- Commerce Chairperson 2005

Gateway Center Advisory Board- 2002 to present

Leadership Blount Class of 2004

Chamber of Commerce- Board of Directors 2004 to present

Chamber of Commerce- Real Estate/Insurance Chairperson 2005 to present

 

 

  1. Please indicate any business activities that could constitute a conflict of interest in the event you are elected.

 

To my knowledge, I am not involved in any business activities that would constitute a conflict of interest.

 

 

 

  1. Name three leadership skills that you practice.

1. Integrity

2. Commitment

3. Compassion

 

F.   What unique qualities, besides the above leadership skills, do you have to contribute to this office? 

I am very passionate about serving the people of Blount County.  I try to listen to everyone’s issues and understand where they are coming from.  When I make mistakes, I take responsibility for them.  I am fair and treat everyone the same.

 

 

 

 

 

II. Questions about your understanding of the office you are seeking:

  1. What do you see as the three most important functions of this office?

1. Setting the property tax rate

2. Approval of budget which includes allocating funding to the various departments

3. Approval of the issuance of county debt instruments such as bonds or notes

 

  1. What would you identify as the three most important issues facing Blount County in the future?

                1. Growth

               2. Education

               3. Infrastructure

 

  1. What can you do in this office to impact these three most important issues?

We first need to establish alternative funding methods for these issues. One of the positives of living in Blount County is the excellent cost of living. If we continue to increase the property tax rate, we penalize all of our taxpayers including our senior population and those just starting out. As a member of the legislative body, I support long-range planning. Growth, education, and infrastructure must include long-term capital funding. We must plan for the future of Blount County so it will continue to be a wonderful place to live.

 

 

III. Positions on specific issues of importance in Blount County:   Use a separate sheet to respond.

A.                 Means for insuring the fair and respectful treatment of all Blount County citizens, regardless of race, gender, religion or ethnic background, given recent concerns about racism and bigotry in our county

 

As a Blount County native, it is very easy to see how much we have changed over the years. We continue to see an influx of people moving into our area.  This should not be viewed as a “bad thing”. All people should be respected as human beings and not as members of any particular group.  We are all created equal and I feel we should get back to basics and treat people fairly and with respect.  Blount County is a wonderful place to live, raise a family, and live out your golden years. 

 

B.                 Promotion of greater diversity in our hired and appointed government officials and employees

 

I am huge proponent of diversity and I support greater diversity of government officials and employees. I would encourage our elected officials to take this into consideration when hiring new and replacing employees.

 

 

C.                 Reconciling the potentially competing interests of growth/development and adequate infrastructure in our county, including the application of the Hunter Growth Strategy

 

With growth comes development.  We keep hearing the term “smart growth” and I am very much in favor of handling our growth in a smart way. That is the main reason I supported and continue to support the Hunter Growth Strategy. One area that the study recommended was the establishment of building codes. We have already instituted that recommendation and a department head has been hired.  Guiding Policy 5 of the Hunter Growth Strategy states “The County’s current standards for facilities impacted by new development are either lacking or not up to par with those of many other growing communities”. These facilities are such things as utilities, roads, schools, and open space. This concerns me greatly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

D.                 The environmental impact of development and/or non-attainment status with the EPA

 

Since Blount County and the surrounding counties are currently at non-attainment status, I am very encouraged with actions that are taking place. For example, ALCOA, Inc. has converted all their mobile equipment to B-20 biodiesel. Blount County has adopted a resolution supporting the speed limit reduction of heavy-duty trucks on area interstates and other access controlled highways to 55mph. The Blount Chamber has been very instrumental in keeping the community up-to-date with regards to air/water quality. Blount County participates in the Air Quality Action Day program by notifying residents and businesses when the air quality is poor.

 

E.                  Identifying and resolving conflicts of interest of public officials

 

The law is very specific with respect to conflict of interest.  There are direct conflicts and indirect conflicts. The general rule is that a direct conflict is strictly prohibited and an indirect conflict is permitted if it is publicly disclosed. The perception of conflict of interest is sometimes greater than the actual conflict.  Outside of the legal aspects, this is a very personal issue which usually involves some type of financial gain.

 

 

F.                  The consolidation of:

1. city and county schools

2. city and county government

3. or a feasibility study on consolidation

 

Consolidation has been discussed in Blount County for many years and I feel the majority of the citizens would like to see it happen. This subject has even been discussed as recently as a couple of months ago.  I am in favor of smaller government and I would support going forward with the possibility of consolidation because I am fairly confident the people of Blount County support the idea.

 

G.                 Health care

 

The health care issue is not just a local one.  It is nationwide and continues to be a severe problem.  I am very proud of Blount County for opening a clinic for the employees to use for non-emergency situations.   We have been operating the clinic for over 6 months now and from what I hear, it is going great and should be saving the county money. Since we are self-insured on our health insurance, it is very important to save wherever we can.  The clinic should continue to save health care dollars and improve the quality of care for our employees.

 

 

 

IV.  Questions for CANDIDATES FOR COUNTY COMMISSION:   Use a separate sheet to answer these questions.

 

  1. How can you communicate effectively with your constituents?

 

The most important aspect of communication is listening.  I listen to my constituents and I will continue to listen to my constituents if re-elected. Most of my constituents make personal phone calls while some will communicate via email.  The majority of the issues they have involve me calling other officials within the county to help resolve their problem. There are times the issues can’t be resolved by county government because they are civil issues, therefore, the reason we are elected is to listen and act upon their requests. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Which recommendations of the Hunter Growth Strategy do you support, and why?

 

All 5 Guiding Policies contain merit. While there are too many recommendations to mention, I will discuss a couple of them.  The first one is the adoption of building codes and as I mentioned earlier, this has already been accomplished.  Another recommendation is the preparation for future increases in traffic demands as the County grows.

 

 

  1. How do you propose to fund infrastructure growth and improvements?
    1. A wheel tax
    2. An adequate facilities tax
    3. Other____________________________________________

 

I am a supporter of the Wheel Tax and I hope we can educate the voters prior to referendum vote.  The Wheel Tax would generate over $1,000,000 in revenue and with that money, Bill Dunlap our Highway Superintendent, could obtain $4,000,000 in additional revenues.  No one wants or likes additional taxes, but this is a way to accomplish the recommendation of the Hunter Growth Strategy.

 

Another area of funding infrastructure growth and improvements would be either an adequate facilities tax or a real estate transfer fee.  I am in favor of the real estate transfer fee since it would probably be a much smaller amount of money that the consumer would have to pay.

 

 

  1. How can the county address the needs of the senior population?

 

Our senior population has paid their dues and their property taxes.  I support the freezing of the property tax rate when our seniors turn 65 years old.  This is currently being reviewed by the General Assembly in Nashville.

 

  1. What is your position on hiring a county law director vs. the current practice of retaining an attorney for the Mayor?

 

There are numerous ways to handle this situation and I am not opposed to a county law director.  The county commission does refer issues to the county attorney and we also have legal assistance through County Technical Assistance Services (CTAS).

 

  1. Concisely describe your vision for Blount County’s future.

 

My vision for Blount County’s future is to retain the beauty and quality of life we have become accustomed to.  I hope we continue to provide families a wonderful place to raise and educate their children.  As we continue to grow, I hope the people of Blount County can discuss and come to an agreement on how best to handle our future.