The Cam'PAIN' trail...

We are not professional campaigners, in fact we are just two small town kids trying to make a difference in our community. So when we found out we had an opponent for this years election, we made a list of things we thought we ought to do as far as campaigning goes. On that list was purchase signs and so we did. They were supposed to take 4 days and they took about 10, then when they arrived they were a bit less substantial than what we had expected, but hey we have 'em we're gonna use 'em!

So Jeri and the boys (11 and 14) proceed to put the signs together before I get home from work to save some time, 100 signs all stapled to a 4 foot stake, stacked up in the kitchen ready for posting. Jeri and the boys grab a bunch and get ready to hammer the first sign in the ground, it falls off the stake. You have got to be kidding me!!! So they gather up all the signs and at this point I'm home and we make a mad dash for Home Depot for stronger hardware. I spend the remaining part of the evening and a portion of the wee hours of the morning re-doing all the signs with the new hardware.

At this point we feel we are ready to hit the trail and get our signs out, nothing like feeling the pressure from our opponet who has had his out for a month! Again while I'm at work, the campaign team puts signs in various locations throughout the valley, only to find out that a very diligent Tooele City employee is taking them out and putting them into the back of his truck. UUGH!!! You can't be serious! Apparently you cannot post campaign signs in city park strips EVEN if you have permission from the land owner. So again, after I get off work I chase down our signs and posts them in the correct areas.

We are now approaching Memorial Day weekend and we still only have a handful of signs posted. We are at the point of laughter now over the whole deal. Our campaign experience thus far has been a real cam'PAIN'!!

Our kids are making us take a break over the weekend to go camping with them. Our second son is leaving next week for the active Army, this will be our last family get together for awhile. While we know we will miss him, and his wife and daughter will certainly feel the pains of separation, we couldn't be prouder. We are looking forward to the break but don't worry we will be back on the trail Monday!!

Tooele County Surveyor...

I have been asked a lot of interesting questions while campaigning this year. I thought I would share some of those along with my answers.

Q; What does the County Surveyor do?
A; The County Surveyor is responsible for the section corners and all other pertinent information regarding land boundary in the entire county. It is the counties responsibility to make sure these monuments are true and if there is problem, then it is to be addressed.

Q; Why is this important?
A; When a person purchases property, he or she wants an accurate account of how much property they own, they want to know exactly where their boundaries are. If the boundary markers have been compromised ( and many have been in Tooele County), then the private land surveyor can not make an accurate account of the persons land ownership.

Q; Why is the County Surveyor an Elected position?
A; That is a good question and one I have often wondered myself. In researching the answer I found that when our founding fathers of this state organized our counties they wanted the county surveyor to be a servant of the people. If this position was not elected, the county surveyor would be accountable to only the commissioners. I also feel that it is important for the county surveyor to be accountable to the people, as private land ownership is a very personal and important issue.

Q; Why does the Tooele County Surveyors office have a full time Licensed Professional Land Surveyor, besides the elected official?
A; When I first started working with the Tooele County Surveyors office, fifteen years ago with my private business, there was one part time Surveyor managing the entire surveying department. As you know Tooele County is one of the largest counties in the state. I would get really frustrated trying to get information from the surveying office the way it was then. I was often referred to an office in SLC that was supposedly managing the affairs of the Tooele County Surveyors office. I didn't think that was right, I didn't think that was good or resourceful for the people of Tooele County. That is why I ran for office. I was not able to run as a full time County Surveyor but felt the office needed the full time position to take care of all the needs of the County. I worked with the current commissioners at that time to approve a full time deputy position. Since then the surveyors office has hired 2 additional full time employees making the total 3. I would in the future hope to see the elected position of Tooele County Surveyor be filled full time. There is currently a tremendous amount of work to be done in the county as far as correcting misplaced monuments. This is a tedious and time consuming process.

Q; Do you feel like you have met your goals you set when first beginning the job as Tooele County Surveyor?
A; Yes and No, I feel that I have accomplished some of the goals I had set for the Tooele County Surveyors office but not all. I do feel, however that we have accomplished many positive things for the county and over all feel good about the direction the surveyors office is headed. There are many things we are in the process of and hope to have completed with in the year. When I reflect back on my terms as Tooele County Surveyor, I think of that one room office with the one part time surveyor, that actually, was in the Tooele County Engineers office, I see what we are now, our own independent office with our own staff. An energetic internship program using students from the local major high schools. I feel like we are more efficient, more productive and definitely more able to be a viable resource to the public. Do we still have work to do? Absolutely- there are always things to improve and make more efficient. Technology is constantly changing and therefore so is the field of surveying.