Name:

Mikel L. Richardson

Office sought:

Precinct 3 Commissioner

What is your philosophy on leadership?

Lead by example. Work hard and take your job seriously and require your employees to do the same. Treat them the same as you would want to be treated. I tell every employee that if they will treat the county fairly, I will make sure that the county treats them fairly. I want every employee to like and enjoy their county job because if they don't, they need to move on.

Do you own property and pay taxes in the Precinct you represent?

Yes

Have you ever been late in paying your taxes. If so, why?

No

What do you believe is the number one issue facing the citizens in your precinct? How do you plan to address that issue?

As in the county in general, growth is the greatest issue because it is the factor driving the other issues especially county roads. I have been improving and replacing roads for the last 8 years. During this period, the pct 3 road crew has paved more roads than the combined total of all paving done in the past. This has been partially because there is more money available and partly by overcoming the old mindset that base material roads are more economical to maintain. When I took over the precinct, It seemed like all we did was pothole and grade. I knew that couldn't continue. I fought for and got a larger share of the division of funds and went after energy companies and developers to provide their fair share. Most of our roads have at least two courses of chip/seal and about 15 miles have hot mix asphalt surfaces. I am on the subdivision committee which now requires a minimum of 2 in. of asphalt thus lowering county maintenance.

What have your life experiences taught you to prepare you for the office you seek?

Earning my accounting degree and CPA has been valuable in taking care of county business both at the precinct and county levels. Working in the corporate world and several self owned businesses taught me the value of planning and budgeting and working with others. The most important preparation for this job however is having served in the office for eight years. I have attended hundreds of hours of classes in every aspect of county business from road building to county budgeting. I have studied and sometimes experimented with just about all road building materials and techniques.

How would you rank the following in importance? Explain.

a. keeping the tax rate as low as possible. Unless we maintain strict discipline over our tax rates, government will never be efficient.

b. planning for growth. Growth is the dominate force pushing the other issues. It's coming whether we are ready or not.

c. paving county roads. We are already behind the curve on roads so we need to keep pushing to accommodate new and different levels of traffic.

d. protecting our water resources. It is evident that if we poke enough holes in the ground, our aquifers will sooner or later be depleted. Our new 4 county water control board is a good step in the right direction.

e. regional transportation issues. We definitely need to stay on this especially the outer loop proposals.

We hear a lot about "change" from the presidential campaigns - what kind of "change" would you like to see in Wise County and how can you help make that change a reality?

In general, Wise county is doing the things it is supposed to do. Comparing ourselves to other counties, we are doing very well but we need to always be looking for more efficient and better ways to serve our constituents.