County Commissioner candidates boast experience
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LAKE COUNTY — Three candidates are on the ballot for the County Commissioner’s seat in District 2. Incumbent Ann Smith Brower of Ronan, William G. Cordis, Jr. of St. Ignatius, and Dave Stipe of Ronan.
Ann Smith Brower
Brower, 38, was born and raised in the Mission Valley, where she attended school in Charlo, Pablo, Polson and Ronan, along with one year of home school.
As the proud daughter of Korean War Veteran Harold Smith, Brower said she is “ever thankful to all those who have served, are serving and will serve.”
Ann started work in the potato fields as a teen, and as an adult attended the American Institute of Massage Therapy. Brower partnered with her mother to start a small business and continued to do the business’s accounting for the next several years. In 2006 she began working at the Lake County Election office, was elected to the County Commissioner’s board in 2011, and last year she earned her real estate license.
“I’m currently enrolled in the school of hard knocks,” Brower said.
Brower and her husband Chuck have two grown daughters. She focused on motherhood and volunteering while they were in elementary school, and participated in multiple groups and service organizations that support and provide educational, recreational, civic, and safety programs within the county. These include Parent Teacher Associations Treasurer/Secretary, Ronan Softball Association Coach, Bread Basket volunteer, member of Lake County Search and Rescue and treasurer for six years, Ronan City Councilmember and a member of the Ronan Parks Board.
She currently serves on multiple boards including the Lake County Council on Aging, Area 6 Agency on Aging and Lake County Public Health Board.
“I have made it a priority to serve Lake County,” she said. “Lake County faces many important issues. One that is currently at the forefront is property tax. As your Lake County Commissioner it is important to find ways to keep a balanced budget. Keeping a frugal eye on expenditures and a realistic expectation of revenues is key.”
Brower sees two potential solutions to alleviate the property tax burden on taxpayers; work with the Department of Revenue to pick up properties that were previously overlooked, and work with Federal and State officials to assist in offsetting laws and rules that place unfunded liability on the County.
The residents’ vision for the county is important to Brower.
“We are part of a unique community. Creating a balance between the visions for our area is and will remain a challenge,” she said. “This is a challenge I believe I am up for. A future of prosperity and harmony I believe should be a goal.”
Dave Stipe
A cattle rancher who has lived in Charlo his entire life, Stipe, 59, served on many local boards during his 12 years as a Lake County Commissioner, from 1993 to 2005.
“I very much enjoyed working with the Senior Citizens,” Stipe said. This involved working with three main boards, local centers and two councils on aging. After his second term, a delegation came to express their appreciation. “It was an honor and one of the highlights of service.”
He assisted other commissioners with the start up of the Medicare program that ran 20 years “with minimal government financing thanks to many civic-minded volunteers,” Stipe said.
Stipe also worked with the state highway department to secure a staging area so the Boy Scouts could get to their camp on Melita Island.
While serving on transportation boards, progress was made on the Highway 93 improvement project and Back Road was finally paved to Round Butte Road in Ronan.
“We resealed every improved road and improved another 30-plus miles,” Stipe said. “Sadly, the ball has been dropped and the needed maintenance is not being done.”
Stipe said Commissioners are facing new challenges, and it will take someone with imagination to figure out how to work with the loss of revenue from the dam and the Bison Range.
“I will make the argument that a commissioner with proven experience solving these types of problems is needed,” Stipe said. “You also need a person who has worked on both sides of the bureaucratic center, not just the governments.”
Stipe and his campaign manager Glen Timm are not soliciting campaign donations, and limiting contributions to $35.
“This is our way of protesting the corruption that money has brought to our political process,” Stipe said. “I know my vote can’t be bought and I don’t believe yours can either.”
William Cordis Jr. did not respond to several attempts to gather biographical information.
