DISTRICT 13

Lester Lewis

I am husband to Pat for more than 50 years with 3 children. They grew up in the town of Molitor and attended Medford area schools. I worked in the plumbing industry for 40 years as a Master Plumber. I have been on the Molitor Town Board over 20 years and have served District 13 as a County Board Supervisor for 20 years.

Why do you want to serve on the County Board?

I want to continue helping all citizens of Taylor County. I believe experience in the private and public sector makes me very beneficial to the County as a whole. I believe in fairness and equal treatment of all the people.

What do you think the biggest challenge facing the county over the next five years is and how would you address it?

The biggest challenge is revenues or lack of them. We would have to either increase revenue or cut services so we need to look for efficiencies and maybe combining some departments. I think discussing with citizens whether to have a referendum on raising taxes or not is necessary. We can all work together to solve problems.

How can the county help promote economic development and residential population growth especially in more rural portions of the county?

I think the County is doing a very important part for growth with the expansion of Broadband. We need to continue with that.

Would you support a more formalized administrated leadership structure for county employees? Why or why not?

Yes, I would support a formalized structure. A County Administrator would oversee all aspects of the County. The County Board would provide policy directions. This would eliminate personal interests and prejudices and direct conflict between the County Board members and the employees. I also believe this would allow us to go to a performance-based pay structure.