Neither Dave Mills nor Mickey Brazell has run for a county commissioner seat before. For Brazell, this is his first run for an office of any kind. Mills, on the other hand served as a Grand Marais city councilor for part of a term until he had to give up his seat because he moved from the city limits.
Here is a brief look at each candidate.
. Mickey Brazell is a 4th generation Cook County resident who married his high school sweetheart, Dee, who is also 4th generation Cook County resident. They have two boys Darin and Jorey. Darin lives in Two Harbors, and Jorey is married and lives in Grand Marais.
“I graduated from Cook County High School in 1980. I left for a couple years then moved back and went logging for 20 years. I worked for Arrowhead Electric for 18 years doing the right-of-way clearing, and for the last two years, I started Northland Brushing.
“I’ve been president of the ATV club for the last 15 years.
“I like camping, ATVing, snowmobiling, fixing things and fishing on Lake Superior.”
. Dave Mills is 37 years old, and has lived in Cook County since 2004 when he came here to work on portage crew for the Forest Service. “I met my wife that same fall, and I have had a variety of jobs as we raised our children who are now 12 and 8 years old. The list of jobs includes, landscaping, chimney sweeping, computer services, property management, bartending, waiting tables, laborer, carpentry, Grand Marais City Councilor, and most recently a painting contractor. I had to resign from the City Council when we moved out of the city limits this past January.”
Mills served on the Grand Marais City Council for 3 years and represented the city on the Grand Marais Park Board, Cook County Community YMCA Advisory Council, Cook County Broadband Commission, Northwoods Food Project Board, and the Cook County Parks and Trails Commission. He currently serves on the Parks and Trails Commission representing District 3.
If you are elected to represent District 3, what do you feel will be your biggest strength you will bring to the board?
. Mills: I am a people person, and I believe my greatest strength would be listening to the concerns of citizens. It is important to understand issues from as many viewpoints as possible. To do so, good leaders need to “listen to learn,” to put themselves in the shoes of others and see things from their perspective. It is a skill that requires practice, and I try to practice it with every conversation I have. .
Brazell: Being able to put the time in and asking questions so we make the right decisions. And listen to the voters so they know that the decision that we come up with is not just my vision.
Each commissioner has many “outside” meetings to attend as a representative of the board. Do you think you will be able to make most of those meetings?
. Brazell: Yes and I will do everything that I can to make the meetings that I am assigned to. But I will not take on more committees than I think I will be able to do a good job at for now. I will have to work into how I will be able to do more.
. Mills: If elected, my role as a commissioner will be my primary job. I will prioritize every “outside” meeting over my “day job.” That being said, my family’s needs come first. I have strong family values.
High levies have caused a lot of concern among many residents. Do you think the county board can keep the levy between 1-3 percent each year? If so, how would you suggest the board can accomplish that?
. Mills: I do not think it responsible to expect a levy increase of only 1-3 percent each year. The county board hired professional consultants to help plan a sustainable financial future. Their recommendation was a levy increase of 3-4 percent each year. We need to be realistic about our costs, and definitely do not need to spring double-digit levy increases on our community again. If we want to be proactive, assuming a levy increase of 5 percent each year will better prepare us for unexpected costs. I believe that is the smart, responsible way to budget until we can work out a better system regarding funding from the state or other revenues besides property taxes.
. Brazell: The only way I see keeping the levy getting lower will be to find more state and federal funds to offset the levy. And find ways to generate more revenue. So we don’t have to raise taxes more than necessary. And if we cannot do that I believe we will have to make cuts somewhere. People on fixed income or low paying jobs will not be able to afford to live here.
Do you think the county should expand the jail facility and law enforcement center as recommended by a recent study conducted by WOLD?
. Brazell: No, I don’t think that we need a bigger jail. But if we were to partner with the Border Patrol and the Coast Guard to where they might be able to be part of the new expansion that would be an option worth looking into.
It is costing us somewhere around $250,000 a year to transport inmates. That’s roughly 20 years to pay for a new jail that is estimated to cost $5 million. I would like to see the results of that study because sometimes they can be misleading.
. Mills: I don’t think we “need” to expand the jail facility and law enforcement center, but I think it could be a smart move. In my mind, the real question is: With all of the very real needs of our community (housing and childcare especially), is the LEC expansion the best use of county resources?
I’m not sure the LEC expansion should be prioritized at this time, but I believe it makes good sense overall. If the opportunity cost of the project is minimal, I would support it, but I do not want to see resources used there instead of housing and childcare. This could be an excellent use of a local options sales tax, or better yet, the lodging taxes under new special law.
Do you see any way that the county budget can be trimmed—or not advanced as fast as it has been in the last several years?
. Mills: The last several years of double-digit levy increases were exceptional, as in, they were never intended to be the norm. They were needed to get the county finances back on a sustainable path. We are now on that path, and should plan for 5 percent increases until other funding options develop, and I believe other funding options should develop.
We should look for other means of revenue instead of always cutting, cutting, cutting. We need to stop tightening our belts, and start building muscle! We should not starve our local government – we should strengthen and grow it because, believe it or not, we are all the local government, and the local government is us!
. Brazell: Yes I do. I think we need to tighten are belts and make sure that we are working as efficient as we can.
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