Weiss ‘not a politician’ but would appreciate support

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Gerald Weiss, candidate for District 3 Davison County Commission. (Chris Huber/Republic Photo)

Talk about it

District 3 incumbent Davison County commissioner Gerald Weiss, 71, insists he’s not a politician.

All the same, he’s asking voters to return him to office.

“My main goal is to work for the taxpayer,” he said. “When I started four years ago, I knew I had a lot to learn, and there’s still a lot to learn.”

District 3 includes the south half of Mitchell Township and Precinct 16 in the southwest part of the city of Mitchell, and Blendon, Mount Vernon, Beulah, Union, Lisbon, Prosper, Baker, Tobin and Rome townships, and the cities of Mount Vernon and Ethan.

Weiss, a Democrat from Ethan, feels he did OK in his first term on the commission and gives himself a score of seven on a scale of 10.

Weiss could never be described as high-strung. He had to be roused from sleep in November 2006 to be told he won his current term on the county commission. Still, he found his new job had its stresses.

“About halfway through, I didn’t think I was going to run again, but there’s still a lot to be done.”

Weiss said he learned to roll with the occasional stresses of office by decompressing with post-meeting coffee chats with his wife.

“The biggest thing I learned is that you can’t please everyone,” he said.

The County Commission is less about one person and more about teamwork, Weiss said.

“I have had some disappointments, but you vote and go on from there. I feel we’ve worked well as a team over the past four years,” he said.

The commission has made some repairs to Highway 41, and some improvements to the section of 247th Street that serves the Poet Ethanol plant in Loomis. That was done on a tight county budget, Weiss said.

“You’ve always got to remember the person paying the bill.”

Weiss believes the commission has handled finances responsibly but must continue to monitor the budget closely with rising costs for indigent health care, wages and other bills.

He is undecided about giving another across-the-board, 3 percent plus 50 cents per hour wage hike to county employees.

“I’m concerned about the juvenile (offenders) in our county. I’d love to see these kids closer to their families, but I’d also hate to see the county go into debt for a juvenile detention center the way the economy is,” he said.

There’s no easy fix to the juvenile facility problem, he said, and the rising costs for transporting juveniles are a concern. Youthful offenders are currently taken to juvenile holding facilities in Huron, Sioux Falls, Watertown and, occasionally, Nebraska.

“It costs a lot to house and transport these kids,” Weiss said. “We got one bill recently that charged the county for six days at $145 a day, and that didn’t include the costs for transportation and wages.”

Weiss said he doesn’t give much heed to complaints that state and federal governments aren’t doing their share to aid county government.

He believes all counties must learn to become more self-reliant.

“The giving is gone from the state and federal government,” he said. “They’re as broke as we are. We’re going to have to take care of ourselves right now.”

Weiss’ background includes nearly 30 years in farming and 10 years in law enforcement. He has served as a volunteer fireman for the city of Ethan, on the Dimock Dairy Board and eight years in the National Guard. He and his wife, Roene, are members of Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Dimock.

He is the father of three and grandfather of five and also raised four nephews after the death of his sister-in-law.

He currently works as a greeter at Walmart, a slot that also gives constituents ready access.

“I’d like to hear more from taxpayers,” he said. “My door is always open and my cell phone is always on.”

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