Supervisor Candidates Face Tough Questions

Republican Supervisor Candidates L to R: Joe Warrick, Mark Doland and Henry 'Willie' Van Weelden

Republican Supervisor Candidates L to R: Joe Warrick, Mark Doland and Henry ‘Willie’ Van Weelden

Oskaloosa, Iowa – Candidates for Mahaska County Supervisor gathered at Smokey Row in Oskaloosa on Thursday evening to answer questions generated by community members.

Republican candidates, Joe Warrick, Henry “Willie” Van Weelden and Mark Doland were on hand, while Democrat candidate Jeff Foster was not in attendance after bowing out the day before the event, citing family commitments.

Oskaloosa Mayor Dave Krtuzfeldt moderated the evening hosted by Oskaloosa News and The Sun.

The group of candidates answered questions given to the group as a whole, as well as targeted questions for each independent candidate. Group questions about support for the regional airport, the Highway 63 Coalition and if cooperation between the towns and county are important.

Each candidate faced tough questions from the community.

Van Weelden answered the question, “You were convicted of crimes in court, but then later found not guilty. What is the status of your case, and how will that impact your ability to be a supervisor?”

Van Weelden responded, “I believe I was found innocent and I go forward with my life, and this is part of it… I was found innocent.”

For Doland, members of the community wanted to know, “How would you respond to allegations that your absence from meetings involving mental health region and 10-15 transit have had a negative impact on Mahaska County and its residents.

Doland responded, “I would like to know where the allegations came from. I just came from a 10-15 meeting today.” Doland said while he has been on that board he helped facilitate finding a bus that would be used on the route.

“Sometimes meetings are double scheduled so you can’t make it to both,” said Doland.

Warrick answered the question, “You are a board member of the regional airport, appointed by the previous Mahaska County Board of Supervisors. If elected, do you believe you will be biased towards the project or will you have an open mind?”

Warrick stated, ‘Well I figure I have an open mind towards the project.” Warrick wanted a bit more clarification on the subject by Krutzfedt.

“I cannot envision a conflict that would come about, because, as I see it, not only is it [airport] beneficial to the community,” including the cities of Pella and Oskaloosa. “It will be beneficial to the county too.”

The primary election will be June 3rd, with two supervisor seats being decided.

Posted by on May 23 2014. Filed under Local News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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