ON THE BALLOT: Washington County Supervisor

Name: Lorraine Williams

Address: 125 Green Meadows Dr., Washington.Iowa

Phone: 319-461-6301

Email: lorraine@cafedodici.com

Family: Husband, Alessandro Scipioni; son, Michele Santoro; daughter, Isabella Santoro.

Occupation: Entrepreneur

Political Experience: I have been interested in politics since high school when I was the second woman elected student council president here at Washington High School. Over the years, at my restaurant and shop, I have been honored to host and congregate with a variety of political hopefuls on the campaign trail during their bids to become elected to serve our country. From 2011-2015, my direct hands-on experience was being the Democratic chair for Washington County.

Why are you running for office?

I feel it is my time. I have invested and worked hard in the city of Washington to make it a destination in Southeast Iowa and would like to expand that capacity into the county. I look forward to study more about what makes our county function, and I plan to help create an atmosphere of opportunity and growth to attract companies and new residents to this area. I am well positioned to be the liaison between the decision makers and the taxpayers.

What are your priorities if elected?

The health and wellness of our citizens is paramount. Securing a permanent home for Public Health is my first priority. Then, I believe it's of the utmost importance to dive into the available resources that are currently used in other counties for Economic Development, such as site selection software, updated GIS and new incentive zones. Grants and other governmental incentives need to be identified and utilized for our county centers. Furthermore, preservation of vintage homes, new housing developments, both private residential and low income complexes, are critical to our county's continued success.

What would you like to see the county accomplish during the next several years if you are elected?

Agriculturally speaking, the massive growth in organic farming and changing eating habits are creating profitable niche opportunities for our farmers to plant non-traditional crops and raising chemical free livestock. As laws evolve with the times, new agricultural opportunities will become available, and I think we should actively evaluate those opportunities and aggressively pursue them to further diversify our strong agricultural backbone.

I love the Henry Ford quote: 'You cannot build your reputation on what you are going to do”. I have achieved the plans I had when I returned to Washington, and I'll do the same for our county.

What is your decision-making style, and how will you employ that if elected?

I am a very accessible and approachable person. Daily I speak to people from all walks of life about things that are on their minds. As county supervisor, listening to my constituents is first and foremost in the process of making suggestions and hard decisions with our team of supervisors. I understand how issues affect people differently and not all decisions will be popular to all but must be made in accordance with the priorities of our county's future. Quality of life for our residents, business prosperity and county sustainability shall be in the forefront of my decision-making process.