Q&A: Ted Bearth

Ted Bearth bio:

Age: 74

Occupation: Retired.

Family: Married to wife Aggie, had 7 children. One is now deceased. Fortunate to have 20 Grandchildren and 14 Great-grandchildren.

Education: AA and BA from the University of Minnesota.

Civic involvement: My volunteer activities include Chairing the Oakdale Summerfest Committee for the past 20+ years. Secretary of Oakdale Veterans Memorial Committee for the past 4 years. I am a Marine Veteran. I have been a Member of the Maplewood Oakdale Lions Club for the past 15 years, serving as the Treasurer. Former District 622 Foundation Member and served on the 622 Community Education Advisory Board for many years. Member and Volunteer at Guardian Angels Catholic Church. Founder of the Oakdale Athletic Association. Chaired The Washington County Community Correction Advisory Board for many years.

The Bulletin asked candidates the following questions:

1. Why are you running for a seat on the Washington County Board of Commissioners?

2. What are the most pertinent issues the county is facing today and how do you plan to tackle them?

3. What is the best option, in your opinion, for solving projected traffic problems along the Gateway Corridor?

4. Woodbury is a growing community. What will you do as a board member to manage growth in a fiscally responsible manner?

5. What do you consider to be the county’s core services and how would you preserve them – by raising the levy, cutting other services or a combination of the two?

Here are Ted Bearth's responses:

1. To increase District 2 participation on the Washington County Board. My opponent has publicly stated that he doesn’t have the time to do all that the other Commissioners do because he has a full time job. To be an elected Official is a privilege and honor and to hear an elected Official say that is unconscionable.

2. Planning for the expected increases in population,  traffic and maintaining our excellent Bond Rating while keeping our taxes stable.

Planning for the increase by involving Cities and Townships to gain input on their needs and wants.

By listening to the various planning commissions and  listening to the County planning staff for short and long term solutions for these increases.

3. It appears that the studies indicate Bus Rapid Transit is the best option at this time. I believe this option best protects our short and long term traffic opportunities. Will need to continue monitoring studies as this project evolves.

4. To partner with the City Officials, planning commissioners to see what effects this growth has on County roads. Woodbury is in charge of their growth and planning and the County Board needs to be aware of the Cities plan so that we could compliment those plans as far as County roadways making sense for both parties and the residents.

5. Core services are Safety, Health and Welfare. We need to maintain and/or improve these services. To do that, we must plan and operate smarter. By listening to our employees to gather their input on what works well and what doesn’t. I believe in going to the people most involved to get information and guide us in making rational budgetary decisions. Rather than increasing the levy or cutting services, I would need to examine the budget. I would also look at increasing user fees, license fees, special use permits, etc before increasing our levy or cutting services.

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