Todd Young Amongst Commissioner Hopefuls

Long-time Glasgow native and County Road Department Supervisor Todd Young is one of seven candidates seeking the job of Valley County Commissioner being vacated by Bruce Petersen in November. Young sat down with the Glasgow Courier to discuss his background, his motivation for the job and his intentions if elected to the post.

Young has called Glasgow home for 33 of his 35 years. He graduated from Glasgow High School, and says that unlike many of his peers, he did not feel the need to leave town to pursue college or just get out of town. Instead, he got hired on at the County Road Department on the bridge crew, where he worked heavy machinery fixing ditches, culverts and, occasionally, hauling gravel.

Young talks fondly of his experience with the County saying, "I know the county like the back of my hand." Young worked his way through the department and eventually took the post as the assistant to then Superintendent of County Roads Paul Tweten, where he experienced the role first hand assisting with daily operations. Young also worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency on rain wash outs in August 2014 and on disaster preparedness.

When Tweten was elected commissioner in 2014, Young took over as interim, and applied for the job. Following the selection process he took over the post permanently and has performed the duties ever since. As the superintendent of the department, Young oversees nearly 2100 miles of county roads, and maintains nearly 1,600 miles of that year round.

Young's motivation for chasing the job is in support of Valley County. He wants to continue to serve, and believes the county has a good direction. "I want to stay in the same lane and make it better," said Young adding, "I want to make sure the people of Valley County are getting the most out of their taxes and their money." He feels improvements are always possible and that he would strive to make the system efficient.

Young supports communication between the residents and the commissioners. He claimed to encourage and enjoy getting feedback from residents at the road department, and defers to the fact that the people paying the taxes should be informed and should be able to talk to the county openly. "If you pay taxes you get to voice your concerns," explained Young about his view on communication from the county.

When asked what he intends to do, Young echos a lot of others in the race when he says, "I don't feel you can really go in with an agenda." He intends to approach the job by getting spun up on the tasks at hand, and then learn the daily roles and needs of the many departments within the county. Young explained it saying, "I want to sit down with the department heads so when they have needs you can have a grasp on it to make the quick, responsible and fiscal decision."

Young also claimed to love the deep field of competition saying, "Competition is a great thing," before going on to explain that he feels this race will certainly produce the best person for Valley County. Young closed the interview on a positive note. "I plan to live here the rest of my life. This is where my new wife and I want to raise a family. And, I want to make a difference and be a voice for the tax payers of this county."