With less than a week remaining until election day, Wayne Clinton, retired Ames middle school teacher, and Roland Mayor Gary Titus are making sure people know what they would bring to the position of county supervisor.

Both Titus and Clinton said citizens should get more of a voice in how county issues are handled.

Titus said his main goal is to get the public involved in the weekly county meetings and increase the number of supervisors on the board.

Titus said he wants to move the meetings to the evenings around the county and videotape them for public access viewing.

“One thing I have learned while serving as mayor for Roland is that, in order to have a good public policy, the public must be involved,” Titus said.

In addition to increasing participation at meetings, Titus wants to change from the current three-member Board of Supervisors to a five-member part-time system.

“To change to a five-member part-time board would cost the same as a three-member full-time board,” Titus said. “It would allow members to spread the workload, have more representation of the county and younger people could run for Board of Supervisors because they wouldn’t have to give up their current job.”

Clinton, however, decided against focusing on one specific issue and decided to focus on the system as a whole.

“I would start out by doing some fact-finding,” he said.

“I will figure out barriers in the system and work to break them down. I want people to work together to make the county better, focusing on efficiency.”

Clinton said it’s important to accentuate the positives he would be faced with in the county and figure out how to improve the negatives.

“I firmly believe one is only as good as the team they put out on the floor,” Clinton said.

“I would work with the best of what I am given as county supervisor.”

Titus said he has a lot of experience that would help him if he becomes county supervisor.

“I bring to the table a very fresh and bold perspective in government and have worked with people at the governmental level,” he said.

“I also have 15 years of business experience in Story County and know the business community well, too.”

Clinton said many of the skills he has acquired on the court and in the classroom would be of assistance to him as county supervisor.

“I have been a success in all I have done,” he said. “I have learned to make on-the-spot decisions. I can work through conflict and resolution skills, along with collaborating with peers.”

All issues are related to bringing county government to the citizen level, Titus said. He said citizens should have more of a voice because what happens affects them.

“In county government the citizens focus on two main needs, services and low property taxes,” Titus said. “It’s important that citizens get the very largest bang for the buck, and I don’t think they are getting that now.”