Name: Ronda Cool
Age: 47
Residence: Merrifield
Current employment: Rosewood Emporium (joint owner).
Public office experience: None.
What are your county’s biggest challenges and what will you do to meet those challenges?
One challenge that we currently face is unemployment/underemployment. According to local business owners our county lacks skilled workers necessary to fill specific job openings. Bridging the gap between local businesses, residents and local government will create a three way winning situation by effectively retraining prospective employees to meet current demand. This would accomplish the following: 1. Businesses would gain trained employees. 2. Give prospective employees the needed skills to seek out gainful employment. 3. Decrease the need for county assistance. With a viable plan in place we can put people back to work, build pride and stimulate the local economy.
How would you balance conflicts between encouraging businesses and preserving the county’s natural resources?
I would encourage the use of green practices by developers, contractors, builders etc. in public and private development. Analyzing land capabilities to determine development intensity and providing factual data to support long-term resource management planning, environmental protection and land use planning. Involving the residents and business community in public meetings to define local concerns and priorities and identifying potential solutions.
Are there any specific programs you would cut or eliminate?
Since I don’t have a political agenda to fulfill, I feel that it would be premature and irresponsible to define any specific program to cut or eliminate without first doing a line item review of the budget and also receiving input from our residents.
