2008 Voter Guide: Public Administrator

Candidate Cathy D. Richards

1. Please provide a link to your campaign Web site if you have one or email address if you do not.
   http://www.richards4admin.com
2. What part of your resume or biography do you think constitutes your greatest asset in the office for which you are running?
   My greatest asset is actually a qualification that is not part of my actual resume - interpersonal skills. I've always been very people oriented and I get along with others quite well. I believe the job of Public Administrator calls for someone who can work well with a wide variety of people. It takes the right kind of person to work effectively with mentally disabled and troubled individuals. It is not just compassion that will make someone a proficient Public Administrator it's knowing how to bring out the better qualities in the client's you supervise.
3. Briefly describe the duties of the office which you seek.
   The Job requires you take care of people, and to become the conservator to individuals who are wards of the court and cannot adequately care for themselves. Many of these individuals are mentally and physically disabled. And when ordered by the Court to take on such duties, the Public Administrator provides proper care of the person and protects the assets of an estate against injury, waste, theft, or loss. In essence, the Public Administrator is a surrogate parent to many of the individuals under his/her care. And just like a parent the Public Administrator is required to maintain their welfare, dictate rules and limitations and make certain their necessities and needs are taken care of.
4. What tools will you rely on most in order to carry help you serve the public in the best way possible?
   I believe my Business degree will help me with the fiscal aspects of this job as well as my 26 plus years of working with people in a wide variety of occupations. I have over 8 years of experience managing personnel, which has entailed hiring, firing, consoling, evaluating and counseling. I also believe my Master's work in Counseling itself will help me better understand the clients under my care.
5. Define the concept of "fairness," "balance," or "creativity" as it relates to the office for which you are running (choose 1).
   I believe balance is critical in this job because balance is what the clients appear to lack. The job of Public Administrator is designed to help each client maintain a healthier lifestyle, healthier attitude and a healthier mental state. This can only be achieved by maintaining equilibrium and not allowing the dark sides, dark moods, or dark veil of mental illness to upset the necessary balance. For the physically disabled, balance is equally important. Overall, the job of the Public Administrator is to strike a definitive balance between the world of responsibility and the illusive world of personal problems and compounded difficulties.

Candidate Dan Dunham

1. Please provide a link to your campaign Web site if you have one or email address if you do not.
   http://www.choosedandunham.com
2. What part of your resume or biography do you think constitutes your greatest asset in the office for which you are running?
   My greatest asset in the office of Public Administrator will be my commitment to honestly and faithfully serve the people of Boone County. My ability to act on this commitment is enhanced by my education in psychology, other behavioral sciences, and the law, and by my life experiences in social services, governmental agencies, and the courts. I have served as a caseworker and as guardian ad litem. As an attorney I have also worked extensively with personal representatives, conservators, and guardians. I will act on my commitment to make decisions that are least restrictive of individuals' freedom while fulfilling my fiduciary duty to each of them.
3. Briefly describe the duties of the office which you seek.
   The duties of the Public Administrator are to properly administer and manage estates, both decedents' estates and conservatorship estates, and to make decisions and provide for the proper care of individuals as their guardian as necessary when no one else is able and willing to perform these responsibilities. This must be done in accordance with recognized standards of due care, probate court orders, the probate code, and other law. These duties must be performed with all due regard and respect for the rights, needs, capacities, and abilities of each person being served.
4. What tools will you rely on most in order to carry help you serve the public in the best way possible?
   The "tools" I will rely on most to best serve as Public Administrator are my professional skills and learning as well as my standing in Boone County to work with the right resources in performing my duties. I have experience in serving people with a diversity of needs, and in working with probate judges, attorneys, doctors, accountants, care providers, family members and other valuable community resources that will be needed to fulfill my duties as Public Administrator.
5. Define the concept of "fairness," "balance," or "creativity" as it relates to the office for which you are running (choose 1).
   The concept of "balance" as it relates to the office of Public Administrator means balancing the need for governmental intervention to safeguard estates and provide for the well-being of people with the rights of individual citizens to be free to make their own decisions and control their own lives and property as much as possible.