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Vote in the Primaries on Tuesday, September 12! |
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Aitkin Chamber of Commerce Luncheon Speech |
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My name is Rob Crowe, I've filed to run for 5th District Commissioner in Aitkin County. I've lived on my farm near Hill City since 1978, leaving in 1989 for Duluth to finish my degree Industrial Engineering degree at UMD and moved back in 1995 to raise my family in a rural setting. My wife, Dawn, and I have 6 children: Travis is a Staff Sergeant in Iraq, Heidi, resides with her husband Robbie in Elk River and teaches second grade, Erin, Civil Engineer, works for Braun Intertec in Hibbing, Alyssa, Katelyn and Valeri are all at home with Mom and Dad.
I am a licensed residential building contractor, my wife and I own Elmo Crowe & Sons Inc., we build homes and garages and do renovations in northern Aitkin and southern Itasca County. I am Clerk/Treasurer for Hill Lake Township and also the 2006 President of the Northern Minnesota Builders Association. I've been active in politics for several years, I worked for Potlatch Corp. at the Grand Rapids OSB plant in production and on the Safety Committee. I'm widely experienced in many vocations a commissioner would be making decisions on.
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Date: 08/31/06 |
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My vision for the county is to have all residents treated fairly when they come in contact with county government at any level. I think taxes should be as reasonable as possible to maintain needed services. County employees should be well paid and high expectations of their performances should be met. It is my belief that county tax revenue growth generally should not be more than population and inflation increases dictate.
I want to be Commissioner because I think we need change, a new attitude in Aitkin County. Our children graduate from High School, we send them to college to get degrees, often in science and technology, then what? They have to go somewhere else to work. While some may say the County Government doesn't have much to say about that, I think this level of government has much to do with making the area attractive to reasonable development and industry. Last year, a client of mine wanted to build a house on a small lake near Swatara, meeting all the setbacks and septic requirements. We were informed by zoning that it was located in a no-development zone designated in 1945 and we'd have to appeal to the county board to have it lifted. We appeared before the board and every department head involved spoke to the matter, the board refused the very reasonable request to build the house. This board decision spiked a $200,000 + project that would have employed local people, as a result of the decision, my summer was spent driving up to 50 miles to work on projects on lakes in Itasca County. For the record, the incumbent commissioner in my district voted for the project, however it demonstrates the effect the County Board has on citizen's lives.
I would also like to see a comprehensive plan for road improvements. I've seen roadwork being done on parts of County 29 (Osprey Avenue) over the past several years, yet the residents are left with a very narrow road to drive on, aside from the new seeding in the ditch and a slightly raised road bed, the road is just wide enough to meet traffic on and looks much as it did before. If Highway 169 is closed for some reason, there is no close Highway to handle a reasonable amount of traffic.
In closing, my aim as commissioner would be to make each decision using the best possible information to ensure the most beneficial result for the citizens. |
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Rob Crowe 36597 State Highway 200 Hill City, MN 55748 |
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Phone: 218-697-8359 |
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Rob Crowe for Commish |