The two men vying for the District 6 seat on the Hall County board are both veteran supervisors.
Incumbent Bob Humiston is seeking his third elected term in the job to which he was first appointed in 2000. Challenger Gary Quandt is seeking his fourth term after having served the county in the mid-1980s and 1990s.
Quandt said he wants to return to the board after having sat out for six years because there are problems he wants to address.
Roads
"In my opinion, the county board has failed as far as their county roads in the past five or six years. They robbed the money from the roads for the rural people," Quandt said, noting that what used to be roads money was redirected into the Heartland Events Center. "Somehow, we need to put money back into the roads."
He favors a prioritization or study to determine which roads are really needed and which ones possibly could be closed.
"I don't anticipate having to close any roads," Humiston said. "What we probably won't do is -- we'll still slow down on resurfacing the roads, which we're behind on already."
Humiston said bridges are the priority in his mind with the limited roads funding.
"We've been short on roads projects as long as I've been on the board," Humiston said. "I don't see any way of getting any more money."
State Fair
Both candidates are looking at raising new money to help the State Fair relocate from Lincoln to Grand Island.
"I would be in favor of either raising the lodging tax or using some other type of incentive -- something to do with lodging tax … I would not be in favor of raising property taxes," Quandt said. "People may support the State Fair in the 6th district, but they do not want to use property tax. Make it a user tax."
Humiston said he hates to see an occupation tax on motels, but would like to consider a food and beverage tax. He's also open to using future keno proceeds.
"I think we need to do as much as we can to help progress that on to get the fair here," Humiston said. "I think we got to look for avenues that we haven't touched yet, more than putting more burden on different organizations that way."
Jail
The county may be strapped on funds for the coming year with the start of the new 300-bed jail, Humiston said. The new jail costs more to run than the old one and contracts are not yet in place to house inmates for other agencies, which would be a revenue source for the jail.
"At this point, the only way to cover those extra expenses is we're going to be borrowing it from inheritance and pay back over a period of time until we can catch up with those expenses," Humiston said. "I believe as we get to operating here we will see a lot more people coming our way and using the facility."
Humiston expects abut $1 million to be borrowed and paid back over five years.
Not having the contracts in place is something that Quandt is concerned about.
"The county board, I don't believe, did a very good job in planning. I think they should have had some contracts up front and now the taxpayers have bought the facility -- are paying for the facility with tax dollars -- and now they're going to figure out how to fund it. I think it's completely wrong," Quandt said.
He said he's also worried about the burden on taxpayers considering they are already paying high gas prices and food prices. He also believes there's an economic downturn looming.
"The common sense on the county board is gone," Quandt said. "Nobody is conservative and nobody's using common sense."
Both Humiston and Quandt are Republicans in a race with no declared opponents past the primary. The May 13 winner is expected to be sworn into a four-year term that begins in January 2009.
BIOS
Name: Robert M. Humiston Jr.
Age: 59
Party: Republican
Address: 116 E. Eighth St.
Occupation: Owner/manager Rentway Express at 3022 W. Old Potash Highway.
Previous filing for elected office: Weed Board 1992; appointed to county board in 2000 to fill Tammie Stelk's remaining term, elected in 2000, re-elected in 2004.
Education: Associate's degree in electronics.
Family: Wife; three adult children; three adult stepchildren; 15 grandchildren.
Professional/community activities: South Central Economic Development District board, Heartland Court Appointed Special Advocate, Grand Island Area Economic Development Corp. board.
Name: Gary Quandt
Age: 53
Party: Republican
Address: 3356 N. Gunbarrel Road (not in district, but plans to move into district if elected.)
Occupation: Foreman at Progressive Engineering.
Previous filing for elected office: Appointed to the Hall County Airport Authority in 1981; elected to Hall County Airport Authority for a term running 1982 to 1986; elected to the Hall County board in 1986 and re-elected in 1990 and 1994. Chairman of county board in 1993.
Education: Grand Island Northwest graduate in 1973.
Family: Single.
Professional/community activities: Former member of: The United Way board of directors, Chamber of Commerce Aviation Committee, past secretary of the Hall County Airport Authority, member of the Hall County Criminal Justice committee, member of the Region 3 Mental Retardation board, Hall County Airport steering committee, Chamber of Commerce Air Show committee, Hall County Handi-Bus reward fund, Boy Scout volunteer, Grand Island Optimist Club, director of Hall County Crime Stoppers board, co-chairman of the Hall County Communications and Civil Defense Committee, vice chairman of the Hall County Crime Stoppers board, Red Cross volunteer, Husker Harvest Days volunteer, Midland Area Agency on Aging board member, Senior Citizens Industry board member.
