GARY SHUMWAY for Summit County Council

The candidates for Summit County Council received an email from Rebecca Palmer of The Deseret News the morning of 10/28/2008 asking us to answer her questions by that afternoon. I am not sure how many of the candidates were able to comply with Rebecca's request but I was able to by her deadline. To date (11/01/2008), I have not seen anything in the Deseret News regarding our answers, maybe something will come out Sunday.

Here are Rebecca's questions (in bold) along with my answers:

What is your age, profession and interest in county government? What is the best way to contact you?
58, Computer Programmer and Publisher, I am campaigning for Summit County Council Seat 'D' because:
I want to be involved in the selection of the new County Manager,
increase government efficiency and responsiveness,
hold open government meetings, and
encourage growth limited by available resources and the standard of living desired by the communities in Summit County.
Additionally, as a citizen of Utah I believe we should be involved in our governance in order to retain citizen involvement and input. Campaigning for the Summit County Council is my effort to be involved in my community, county, and state.
The best way to contact me is via phone: 801-824-4469 or email garyshumway@hotmail.com.

What property do you own in the county and how will that play into your choices as a county council member, if elected?
My wife and I own a condo in the Jeremy Ranch area. That?s it. I do not have business dealings (other than paying taxes) with the County nor large property holdings, thus I will not need to recluse myself from County business, unlike my opponents. As the Summit County Council is elected "at large", I will represent all the people in the County. Being fair and open is critical.

What salary do you feel would be appropriate for the council members that are elected? What salary range would be appropriate for the county manager?
I believe that is based on what is ultimately going to be required of the Council. This is a new form of government for the County so this will have to be worked out, to an extent, as we go along. It could be argued that the pay for the Council should be: take what the current Commissioners make, subtract the amount to be offered the new Manager, then take the remainder, divide by 5 (for five Council members) and that would be our salary. I believe that amount is something in the neighborhood of $37,000, plus benefits. We will need to pay the County Manager a competitive salary or offer compensating perks. As I believe we should hire an experienced Manager. I would expect a base pay for the Manager to be something in the range of $90,000 to $110,000, based on salaries of similar sized counties.

How would you balance the concerns of east-side residents of the county vs. those of west-side residents?
We need communication! To this end I have created www.tellshumway.com so that there is an on-line forum for public communication with myself. I would be happy to create similar forums for the other Council members or we can have one general forum. Whichever way we go, we must have communication. We also must not have one side of the county dictating to the other side. Each area has different needs. I believe too much land on the east-side has been locked up but we must also have development based on resources available, both natural and that supplied by the County.

What else should voters know about you before voting? Are there any other major issues
you'd like to discuss?
Why vote for Gary Shumway:
1. You agree that our existing two-party system does not give us the choice in candidates that we need for healthy debates and informed decision making. Vote for the Constitution Party candidate. For the Utah Constitution Party general platform see www.cputah.org. To view my campaign web site please see www.voteshumway.org.
2. You want your Council member to listen to you and not have conflicting personal agendas. Gary is not a real estate developer, large property owner, or has business dealings with the County. Gary is a team player who will listen to Summit County residents. No form letters. Gary will maintain a web site seeking your comments
(tellshumway.com).
3. You support growth limited by available resources, you desire to maintain Summit County's unique composition, and maintain or increase our standard of living.
4. You want your Council member to work towards optimizing the size of government, to be responsive to citizens needs, yet cost effective. Volunteer boards and public and Internet forums are excellent ways to hear from the citizens.
5. You want your Council member to champion government openness.